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Author Topic: Photvoltaics (PV)  (Read 20942 times)

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AGelbert

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Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
« Reply #210 on: March 23, 2017, 02:14:46 pm »
Recent Advancements in the Solar and Renewable Energy Industry

By Daphne Stanford on March 22, 2017 at 15:33 pm   

It’s 2017, but solar cells went into commercial production in 1953, so you do the math: we should probably have access to affordable solar power, by now, but there are numerous dirty fuel proponents working to try to ensure that we continue to be dependent upon them for as long as possible.  However, despite the slow progress, exciting technological breakthroughs are being discovered that should make affordable solar power available to the average consumer sooner rather than later.

Most of us are at least somewhat familiar with how solar energy is generated: first, solar panels collect sunlight; next, power is converted into usable electricity; next, electricity flows into the net meter; and finally, the attached building is able to use the electricity produced by the sun.  In order for solar power to become more widely utilized, it has to become more affordable.  However, National Geographic reports that significant advances in nanotechnology will soon lead to lower costs and higher efficiency rates. 

What kind of advancements, specifically, you ask?  To cite one example, researchers from MIT and the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology have developed a new solar cell—what they’re calling a “step cell”—that combines two different layers of sunlight-absorbing material to harvest a broader range of the sun’s energy.

There was also a new development just this month, as reported in Science Daily:

Researchers at The City College of New York-based CUNY Energy Institute announce the development of a novel low cost, rechargeable, high energy density battery that makes the widespread use of solar and wind power possible in the future.   

Think Tesla’s Powerwall, only more affordable.  Moreover, Green Tech Media recently compared the costs of wind and solar to gas, coal, and nuclear-based energy, illustrating the clear advantage that renewable energy has over fossil fuels, price-wise.  Why are our cities’ and towns’ energy grids so slow to implement clean energy sources?  Michael O’Boyle cites two widespread misconceptions: first, “Misguided alarmism about the reliability of renewables,” and second, “Misconceptions of the cost of running the grid with more renewables.”

The potential cost of implementing solar power into energy grids is even lower due to increased loans to solar energy production companies, so there’s that, too.  All in all, the costs of solar energy are going down—no matter how much the Trump administration would like us to believe in its inconvenience and unaffordability.  Moreover, there has been considerable progress in the renewable energy world in terms of new career opportunities unique to the industry, more affordable consumer options, and new technological advancements.

Over the past year, there have been a number of new technologies developed related to solar efficiency, solar energy storage, wearable solar technology, and solar design tech.   Perhaps one of the most exciting developments that has received a good deal of attention is solar roadways: they are roads with the ability to convert sunlight into energy to be delivered to local smart grids.  According to their website, “Our goal is to modernize the infrastructure with modular, intelligent panels, while producing clean renewable energy for homes and businesses.”

Beyond specific products, there are also a number of careers in sustainability-related fields like forestry and geology that should be attractive to those interested in supporting the renewable energy industry.  A common role for a forestry graduate, for example, is that of a conservation scientist or forester.  Companies typically create this position in order to help them manage their use of forests as resources related to their product supply chain.  Georgia-Pacific, for example, attempts to replenish and responsibly preserve the forest elements that they harvest for business use.

Other related fields, such as geography and geology, offer career opportunities in cartography or geoscience.  The advantage of these nature-related jobs is the sense of purpose that they offer to the potential employee in search of ethical work.  Many people these days, faced with dire news about the state of the environment and climate change around the world, are beginning to feel compelled to search for more meaningful job positions that help to improve people’s lives in some way. 

Because of this new awareness of the importance of sustainability, moreover, it’s not as necessary as it used to be to enter the not-for-profit world in order to find meaningful work.  Many small and medium-sized companies—even larger corporations—are becoming more aware of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies and developing more substantial ethical compasses that offer more satisfaction to the socially-conscious job seeker.  More and more people are asking, “Is the world a better, safer, or healthier place because of my company?”  And an increasing number of companies are confidently responding with a resounding, “Yes!” 

More people, also, are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of personal responsibility, when it comes to sustainable living and eco-friendly lifestyles.  There are a number of simple, tangible actions that you, personally, can take at home in order to maximize your energy efficiency and long-term monthly expenses, as well.  For example, you’ll be able to save a substantial amount of money just by getting rid of wasteful, out-of-date appliances. 

Conducting a home energy audit requires little energy on your part after you make a call to a local certified energy rater or auditor.  An auditor will be able to determine the areas in your home that need additional insulation and weatherization.  You can also make sure that your appliances and lightbulbs are up to date, in terms of the most energy-efficient models and light sources—if in doubt, look for the “Energy Star” symbol on products when searching for replacements.  Lastly, be mindful of your water usage and the amount of food waste you throw out; the simple act of composting can relieve much of the burden on our local landfills.

*   *   *

Living in a sustainable manner requires all of us working together to ensure we’re picking the most socially and environmentally responsible options—whether it be an appliance, a job position, or a political vote supporting renewable, energy-efficient policies and legislation in favor of clean energy.  What are you doing to contribute to a more sustainable world?

http://lnr.politicususa.com/recent-advancements-solar-renewable-energy-industry-2218/
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
« Reply #211 on: March 25, 2017, 03:09:00 pm »
First Utility-Scale Project on Tribal Lands to Power 100,000 Homes
Mar. 21, 2017 01:57PM EST

By Dan Whitten

First Solar held a commissioning event last week on a 250-megawatt solar facility on the Moapa River Indian Reservation. This is the first utility-scale solar project on tribal lands.

Morgan Stanley put together this cool video on the project as part of their series on sustainable solutions called Capital Creates Change and we wanted to share it with you. It highlights the economic opportunity, the jobs and the clean power that utility scale developers are bringing to Indian Country and to Southern Nevada.

Late last year, I was lucky enough to attend a ribbon cutting at NextEra Energy's Silver State South project, a 250-megawatt project developed and built by First Solar at the southern tip of Nevada, on the California border line. Eight years ago, when developers began surveying the Silver State South site, they couldn't have known what the world or even that little corner of the Nevada and California border would look like in terms of solar adoption. But they did know major change was afoot.


Back then, solar accounted for one hundredth of one percent of the nation's power generation and it was considered by some to be the costliest form of electricity.

In hindsight, the project goes a long way toward explaining the phenomena we are seeing in solar energy today. First off, the region now boasts 1,200 megawatts of solar electricity, which is the size of two big coal plants and no emissions, a fact that helps explain why our greenhouse gas emissions as a nation are lower than they have been in more than two decades.

The Moapa Southern Paiute Solar project continues a trend in Nevada that has seen utility scale grow by leaps and bounds and with it has come thousands of jobs. Economies of scale evident from solar adoption help explain why the cost of solar has dropped by about 70 percent in the last eight years.

And while the utility scale revolution is taking hold in the West, policies governing rooftop solar in Nevada have crippled that segment of our industry and the many benefits that a healthy distributed generation market can provide for our electrical grid. The model is in place for many thousands of megawatts of clean electricity in the West and the hundreds and thousands of jobs that come with it.

The key is making sure there is a welcoming policy environment for continued growth of large scale solar, with triggers that can help distributed solar take pressure off the grid.  


http://www.ecowatch.com/first-solar-moapa-reservation-2321843618.
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
« Reply #213 on: April 02, 2017, 11:01:39 pm »
World's Biggest Solar + Battery Farm  Coming to Australia

By Lorraine Chow

30 March, 2017

A massive solar and battery farm is being built in South Australia's Riverland region.

If everything goes to plan, the plant will be running by the end of 2017 and will be the largest such system in the world, Brisbane-based renewable energy developer and investor Lyon Group announced.

The Riverland plant consists of 330MW of solar PV and a 100MW/400MWh battery storage system, or 3.4 million solar panels and 1.1 million batteries.  :o  ;D

The new project couldn't come sooner. A major gas shortage is looming and the country's decades-old coal plants are shutting down, sparking potential price hikes and putting the nation's energy security at risk.

The $1 billion (US $767 million) project was announced amid South Australia's recent spate of blackouts.

Interestingly, the ball really seemed to roll after an intriguing tweet from none other than Elon Musk.

You may recall that earlier this month the Tesla CEO offered to build a 100MW battery storage farm for the Australian state. To up the ante, he said he would provide the system for free if it was not commissioned within 100 days. Musk's audacious bet led to an eventual conversation with Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Days later, the South Australian government announced an open, competitive tender for a 100MW battery storage project.

"The battery will modernize South Australia's energy grid and begin the transformation to the next generation of renewable-energy storage technologies," the government office stated.

According to Australia's ABC News, Lyon Group partner David Green said the company will build its new plant, along with a similar plant near the town of Roxby Downs, regardless of the outcome of the government's tender: 

The Lyon Group has already signaled its intention to bid for a SA government tender to build a battery storage system with 100-megawatt output.

The tender arrangement would give the government the right to tap the battery storage at times of peak demand, but allow the project owner to sell energy and stability into the market at other times.

An expressions of interest process closes on Friday.

Other companies, including Carnegie, Zen Energy and Tesla, have all suggested they could be interested in bidding.

Green said the outcome of the tender would not determine whether or not Lyon's projects were built, but would influence the final storage configuration in terms of the balance between optimizing grid security and capturing trading revenue.

Green said the project was 100 percent equity financed and construction would begin within months, requiring 270 workers, ABC News reported.

"We see the inevitability of the need to have large-scale solar and integrated batteries as part of any move to decarbonize," Green added.

http://www.ecowatch.com/worlds-biggest-solar-battery-storage-2336699397.html
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
« Reply #214 on: April 10, 2017, 05:24:22 pm »
Agelbert NOTE: Take THAT, Mr. Trump! You will rue the day you fossil fuel fascists insulted Germany.

Germany's Merkel Encourages Spain, Portugal to Invest in Solar 

by Naomi Kresge

‎April‎ ‎8‎, ‎2017‎ ‎5‎:‎07‎ ‎AM

German Chancellor Angela Merkel encouraged Spain and Portugal to invest more in solar energy and said they need a better link to France amid a push for a unified European power grid.

“The connection between France and the Iberian peninsula is a huge problem,” Merkel said Saturday in her weekly podcast. “These are, for example, two countries in which solar power naturally could be expanded.”

Merkel’s government has promoted wind and solar energy as the country prepares for the closure of its last nuclear power stations in 2022, transforming the country’s power markets. Green output met 29 percent of Germany’s electricity demand last year, about the same as in 2015, but far exceeding the 11 percent level of a decade earlier.

The European Union is aiming to break down national barriers for power, which could make supplies more secure and lower costs thanks to more trade across national borders.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-08/germany-s-merkel-encourages-spain-portugal-to-invest-in-solar
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
« Reply #215 on: April 11, 2017, 02:14:05 pm »

'In March, during the hours of 8am to 2pm, system average hourly prices were frequently at or below $0 per megawatt-hour'
Surfer Cole Clisby rides his surfboard off the top of a wave as the sun sets off the shores of Leucadia, California

"Yeah, they're out there havin' fun, In the warm California sun," sang The Rivieras in their 1964 hit.

And it could not be more apt today as the sun in the state was so strong – and the number of solar farms so large – that electricity prices in the state have begun turning negative on the main power exchange, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has revealed.

Solar made up a record figure of nearly 40 per cent of the electricity sent to the grid in the California Independent System Operator’s (CAISO’s) territory for a few hours on 11 March, after utility-scale solar farms grew by almost 50 per cent in 2016, the EIA said on its website.

However, as the Quartz website pointed out, negative wholesale prices do not translate into an unexpected windfall for consumers.

This is because retail prices are based on the average cost, so people might get slightly cheaper electricity but not an actual cash payment as a result of prices becoming negative for a few hours.

The EIA said: “The large and growing amount of solar generation has occasionally driven power prices on the CAISO power exchange during late winter and early spring daylight hours to very low, and sometimes negative, prices.

“However, consumers in California continue to pay average retail electricity prices that are among the highest in the nation.”

Solar capacity in the state has grown rapidly in the last few years.

There was less than one gigawatt in 2007, but nearly 14GW by the end of last year.

At this time of year, the large amounts of sunlight and the relatively low demand can produce too much electricity around the middle of the day.

“Electricity demand in California tends to peak during the summer months,” the EIA said.

“However, in late winter and early spring, demand is at its annual minimum, but solar output, while not at its highest, is increasing as the days grow longer and the sun gets higher in the sky.

“Although the sun is at a similar angle in September and October, electricity demand is still relatively high, leading to lower solar generation shares than seen in March.

“Consequently, power prices … were substantially lower in March compared with other times of the year or even March of last year.

“In March, during the hours of 8am to 2pm, system average hourly prices were frequently at or below $0 per megawatthour.


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/california-sun-solar-power-electricity-energy-prices-negative-renewables-green-climate-change-fossil-a7678086.html

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
« Reply #216 on: April 16, 2017, 05:03:12 pm »
Albuquerque city buildings getting $25M in solar panels

Posted on Sunday, April 16th, 2017 By The Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's most populous city has plans to install more than $25 million in solar panels on city buildings over the next two years.

The installations in Albuquerque will mark the first phase in fulfilling a recently set goal of generating more of the city's energy from solar power.

Albuquerque City Councilors Pat Davis and Isaac Benton made the announcement Saturday.

They say the project's first phase of the project is expected to save taxpayers about $20 million over 30 years.

City councilors last September passed a resolution calling Albuquerque to generate one quarter of its energy from solar power by 2025.

The first phase of the project will begin later this year.

The project will be financed through the energy savings and federal bond credits.

https://www.marketbeat.com/articles/albuquerque-city-buildings-getting-25m-in-solar-panels-2017-04-16/
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
« Reply #217 on: April 16, 2017, 07:47:30 pm »
Albuquerque city buildings getting $25M in solar panels

Posted on Sunday, April 16th, 2017 By The Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's most populous city has plans to install more than $25 million in solar panels on city buildings over the next two years.

The installations in Albuquerque will mark the first phase in fulfilling a recently set goal of generating more of the city's energy from solar power.

Albuquerque City Councilors Pat Davis and Isaac Benton made the announcement Saturday.

They say the project's first phase of the project is expected to save taxpayers about $20 million over 30 years.

City councilors last September passed a resolution calling Albuquerque to generate one quarter of its energy from solar power by 2025.

The first phase of the project will begin later this year.

The project will be financed through the energy savings and federal bond credits.


https://www.marketbeat.com/articles/albuquerque-city-buildings-getting-25m-in-solar-panels-2017-04-16/

Do they mean 25% of their electric energy or 25% of total energy?

Spend 25 mill to save 20 mill? Isn't that a net loss of 5 mill?


 ::)

They are talking about ELECTRICAL ENERGY DEMAND from buildings, light poles, pumping stations, etc.. The city gets their JUICE from a lot of fossil fuel sources now. THAT is what they will reduce. City vehicles aren't in the equation.

AS to your math skills, I see economics isn't your thing. IF they DO NOT spend the $25 million bucks on PV, they HAVE TO SPEND X AMOUNT in electrical energy costs powered by fossil fuels.

THAT "X" amount is projected to be 20 million dollars MORE than they will spend in 30 years with the added PV. Assuming that the PV will (MTBF) crap out in 30 years, or sooner, is probably the reason you came up with the 5 million dollar "loss". There is a bit more too it than that.

The cost savings from NOT adding energy generation capacity from fossil fuels represents additional money (and health) savings not obvious to the casual observer that the city, since they are not a utility, isn't accounting for.

You may claim that building gas or coal fired power plants is cheaper than building solar panel infrastructure of equivalent capacity, but MAINTAINING fossil fuel power plants is FAR more costly than maintaining renewable energy infrastructure. SO, the more renewable energy infrastructure, the lower your operating costs.

In addition, there will be less pollution from the power supplied to the  grid, which will lower city costs in health related expenses THAT YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN POSITIVELY ACCOUNTNG FOR EITHER.

Finally, the cost of solar energy is a known quantity, whereas the cost of fossil fuels in the future is sure to go UP. As the city gets more and more renewable energy the savings will continue to grow for all those reasons. There will be NO price shocks, PERIOD. The more power the city can make on it's own, the less it is forced to pay higher rates to a power corporation. The only people this is a "bad deal" for are the stockholders of corporations owning fossil fuel powered power plants. 

Since you think it's a "bad deal" to lower the city carbon pollution with $25 million bucks, I guess you voted for Trump. IOW, long term cost benefit analysis is not your thing. They will save a lot more than the conservative $20 million dollars they are estimating. And even if they didn't, the improved air quality would be worth it.

 Edpell, you are a one trick, Renewable Energy attacking, pony.

You are also boring.  Go do something productive for a change.
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
« Reply #218 on: April 18, 2017, 06:53:42 pm »
 

Fractal-etched graphene electrode boosts solar energy supercapacitor storage by 3,000%

Tibi Puiu April 17, 2017

nspired by the fractal structure of the fern leaf, researchers used lasers to etch self-replicating structures on a graphene electrode, designing a novel supercapacitor. The resulting energy storage system has a 30-fold higher energy density than anything previously demonstrated and could dramatically improve solar energy applications, especially the thin solar film variety.

The breakthrough electrode prototype (right) can be combined with a solar cell (left) for on-chip energy harvesting and storage. Credit: RMIT.

There are a number of options for storing energy beyond the batteries everyone’s familiar with. For instance, a capacitor stores energy by means of a static charge, as opposed to an electrochemical reaction found in a lithium-ion battery. There are three main types of capacitors, among them the supercapacitor, which, as the name implies, has a much higher capacitance up to thousands of times higher than a classic capacitor. These are great for storing frequent charge and discharge cycles at high current and short duration. Sounds familiar? Well, solar energy is very much like that which is why there’s a great interest in the industry for supercapacitors. The reason why you don’t seem them beyond the lab included in solar energy systems is because supercapacitors were limited by energy storage densities in the order of 3 × 10−3 Whcm−3 or lower.

Australian researchers from the RMIT University in Melbourne may have set the stage for mainstream capacitors for solar energy storage. With a little help from nature, they managed to design a new electrode which when integrated with existing supercapacitors can improve the state of the art supercapacitor-based solar energy storage by an astonishing 3,000 percent.

Their inspiration was the western sword fern (Polystichum munitum) whose leaves are densely packed with veins which efficiently store energy and transport water. It’s one of the most abundant ferns in the world, known for its bright green, tapered, 2- to 3-foot-long (61- to 91-centimeter) fronds. What many gardeners might not realize about the sword fern is that at the nanolevel its leaves have a self-replicating structure akin to that of the snowflake or other fractal-like structures commonly found in nature.

A western swordfern leaf magnified 400 times. The veins of the leaf have a self-replicating structure similar to the snowflake. Credit: RMIT.

The electrode designed by the Australian researchers is based on the fern’s naturally-efficient fractal structure. To mimic the fractals, the researchers fired high precision laser pulses to manipulate sheets of graphene, the wonder material that among its many useful properties is also an excellent electrical conductor.

Tests suggest that when the novel electrode was combined with supercapacitors, the system stored charge for longer, with minimal leakage.
Quote

“The most exciting possibility is using this electrode with a solar cell, to provide a total on-chip energy harvesting and storage solution,” said PhD researcher Litty Thekkekara and lead author of the new study published in Scientific Reports.

Specifically, the greatest boost might lie in exploiting this new electrode in conjunction with thin film solar cells which are flexible enough to be used almost anywhere to capture energy from the sun, be it on windows, smartphones or watches. We might not need to charge phones via batteries using such a technology.

Quote
“With this flexible electrode prototype we’ve solved the storage part of the challenge, as well as shown how they can work with solar cells without affecting performance. Now the focus needs to be on flexible solar energy, so we can work towards achieving our vision of fully solar-reliant, self-powering electronics,”
the researchers wrote. 

http://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/fractal-graphene-solar-energy-storage-04234321/
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AGelbert

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Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
« Reply #219 on: April 19, 2017, 05:42:25 pm »

20,000 Pakistani Schools to Go Solar   

ByLorraine Chow

17 April

About 20,000 schools in the province of Punjab in Pakistan will convert to solar power, according to government officials.
The project will kick off in Southern Punjab schools and expand in phases across the province, according to a local report.

The Asian Development Bank and France's AFD Bank are backing the program, Cleantechnica reported. This is the first program of its kind in the country.

In Pakistan, nearly half of all residents are not connected to the national grid. Residents who are connected to the grid regularly experience rolling blackouts and power outages. And the problem is only expected to get worse in the coming years.

Renewable resources can help mitigate this growing energy crisis. Pakistan happens to be rich in solar, as the Express Tribune described:

Quote
"With eight to nine hours of sunshine per day, the climatic conditions in Pakistan are ideal for solar power generation. According to studies, Pakistan has 2.9 million megawatts of solar energy potential besides photovoltaic opportunities.


"According to figures provided by FAKT, Pakistan spends about $12 billion annually on the import of crude oil. Of this, 70 percent oil is used in generating power, which currently costs us Rs18 per unit. Shifting to solar energy can help reduce electricity costs down to Rs 6-8 per unit."

Solar energy has made great strides in Pakistan in recent years. In February 2016, its parliament became the first national assembly in the world to be powered entirely by solar energy. The legislative body, known as the Majlis-e-Shoora, is in the capital city of Islamabad.

One of the world's largest solar farms is currently under construction in Punjab. Developers of the 1,000-megawatt Quaid-i-Azam Solar Park in Bahawalpur have already added hundreds of megawatts of energy to the national grid.

http://www.ecowatch.com/pakistan-schools-go-solar-2360991261.html
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
« Reply #220 on: April 23, 2017, 02:59:08 pm »
Tesla unveils sleek, barely noticeable solar panels 

Megan Treacy (@mtreacy)
Technology / Solar Technology
 April 10, 2017

Tesla unveiled its solar roof tiles last fall with major fanfare and for good reason. The energy-generating roof tiles could make an entire roof a power station while also looking beautiful at the same time.

The only downside was that the solar roof tiles were only attainable for people who were building a new home or installing a whole new roof. Homeowners wanting a way to add good-looking solar energy to just a section of their roof were out of luck unless they wanted to undertake some heavy renovations.

Until now.

Tesla quietly updated their website this past weekend to reveal an addition to their solar power portfolio: sleek, low-profile solar panels that can be added to any existing roof. The solar panels will be made by Panasonic at Tesla's Gigafactory 2 in Buffalo, New York exclusively for Tesla. The solar panels are made to integrate with the company's Powerwall energy storage units for a round-the-clock clean energy supply.

The 325-watt solar panels have no visible mounting hardware and an integrated front skirt to make the panels as camouflaged and streamlined as possible. Tesla claims that these panels also exceed industry standards for durability and lifespan. Elecktrek reports that the non-exclusive 325-watt module that Panasonic has on the market has an efficiency rate of 21.67% and these new panels are likely similar.

Tesla will start producing the solar panels this summer and will begin using them exclusively for all residential solar installations going forward in replacement of any other third party solar panels. While production hasn't started yet, and there's no information yet on pricing, you can already request a custom quote for your home on the website.

Pictures at link:

https://www.treehugger.com/solar-technology/tesla-unveils-sleek-barely-noticeable-solar-panels.html
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Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
« Reply #221 on: April 27, 2017, 07:35:41 pm »
Researchers Outline Pathway to 10 Terawatts of Solar PV  :o  ;D by 2030
   
April 27, 2017

By Renewable Energy World Editors 

Current projections for solar PV deployment in the coming years have significantly underestimated the solar market’s potential, researchers say.

Quote
In a new Science paper, the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), along with their counterparts from similar institutes in Japan and Germany, and researchers at universities and industry, discuss a realistic trajectory to install 5-10 terawatts of PV capacity by 2030.

The International Solar Alliance has set a target of having at least 3 terawatts of additional solar power capacity by 2030, up from the current installed capacity of 71 GW.

Reaching 5-10 terawatts should be achievable through continued technology improvements and cost decreases, as well as the continuation of incentive programs to defray upfront costs of PV systems, according to the paper, which was co-authored by Nancy Haegel, director of NREL's Materials Science Center, and David Feldman, Robert Margolis, William Tumas, Gregory Wilson, Michael Woodhouse, and Sarah Kurtz of NREL.

The researchers predicted that 5-10 terawatts of PV capacity could be in place by 2030 if these challenges can be overcome:

•A continued reduction in the cost of PV while also improving the performance of solar modules

•A drop in the cost of and time required to expand manufacturing and installation capacity

•A move to more flexible grids that can handle high levels of PV through increased load shifting, energy storage, or transmission

•An increase in demand for electricity by using more for transportation and heating or cooling

•Continued progress in storage for energy generated by solar power.

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/04/researchers-outline-pathway-to-10-terawatts-of-solar-pv-by-2030.html

Agelbert NOTE: Overcoming THIS challenge would boost our path to 10 Terawatts and beyond BEFORE 2030 (see below):
 
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
« Reply #222 on: April 27, 2017, 08:10:28 pm »
‘Look, Ma, No Fuel!’ … Fire-free Cooking with Solar  
   

April 27, 2017

By Mahesh Bhave 
Founder, CEO

Mahesh P. Bhave, visiting professor, strategy, IIM Kozhikode, India, is an engineer from IIT Delhi with a Ph.D. from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School. He may be reached at mahesh@iimk.ac.in.

… And no smoke, and no pollution either; no match boxes, no fire-wood collecting, no charcoal burning, and no ash. No waiting for the deliveryman to take away the old LPG cylinder and bring in the new. A cooking revolution looms.

The cooking supply chain is being disrupted. Bounty from the sky, delivered free to the roof, drives the new cooking economy, and not the laboriously drilled, mined, transported, stored, and distributed fuel from the ground, say, kerosene or natural gas, let alone charcoal, firewood or biomass of any kind.

This is a reason to celebrate — for it creates choices for homemakers, frees up women’s time to undertake creative and productive work, and reduces health problems that today affect women and children disproportionately when they cook with smoky systems at home.

Precursors to the impending cooking revolution have been with us for a while — microwave ovens, induction cookers, resistive hotplates, electric water kettles. But they are not strictly fire-free, fuel free, or emissions free in that behind the elegant and useful appliances, in the hinterlands far from cities they are based on electricity produced from burning coal, overwhelmingly, and natural gas lately in the US. Hydro-power or nuclear plants contribute a small portion of today’s electricity, and not without hazards and environmentally high costs.

The revolution I am talking about is local electricity — rooftop solar based, complemented by batteries and related electronics — fed into the house;
no electricity grid with giant generation plants and massive transmission and distribution networks necessary.

Wireless “LPG” or “Pipeless” Natural Gas or “Cylinder free Gas”    

When I was a student, I remember how on wintry mornings in New Delhi, just outside the campus gate of our engineering institute, sitting in a huddle around a fire, we ordered and sipped tea straight off the boiling pan, holding a small glass with two fingers in a pincer grip. Accompanying the chatter of those around us was the background noise of a hissing kerosene stove. That sound was integral to the scene. Water was always boiling over the flame, tea made in batches, filtered through a cloth sieve, and poured into the glasses, nominally rinsed, I now shudder to think. I am sure paper cups now replace the glasses.

Walking along the streets of Pune, on certain corners one sees vendors of dosas, often outside the gates of colleges. Half the joy is in watching the master street chef prepare them in front of your eyes. Here too, alongside the bustle of the street, and the circle of observers waiting their turn with the food, is the hissing stove under the large flat iron pan, always kerosene-fired. The sound of the stove is again a part of the overall experience.

Consider backyard cooking in U.S. homes. The setup is elaborate, with coal or propane fires and grilles. The ritual of assembling the food to be grilled, and the lighting of the cooking range builds a festive, holiday atmosphere. ::) But can it be simpler, without loss of atmosphere, with solar panels and batteries? I think so. 

Indeed, on March 29, in Solana Beach, Calif., Dr. Barry Butler, Cindy Davenport, Roger Davenport, and I cooked toor lentils and stir-fried green and red peppers, onions, ginger and spices on a hotplate fired by solar panels, and ate it over rice in Dr. Butler's backyard.

Cooking Without Burn-ers

Fast-forward a year or two out, and the tea and the dosas will be the same, but cooked without fire, without kerosene, without the hissing noise. How? Solar-powered, battery enabled, over resistive hotplate or induction cookers. A portable solar canopy, a large umbrella over the fire-less stove collecting solar radiation and feeding it to the cookstove, mediated by a Li-ion battery. Personal, portable, ad hoc cooking in the open for the common man — no “burn”er necessary.

In the U.S., Sears, Home Depot, IKEA, Target, Walmart, and perhaps Best Buy, may include solar cooking systems in their stores and catalogs.


Solar Systems Design with Cooking at the Center

Solar Home Systems (SHS) have historically focused on lighting, phone charging, sometimes fans and TVs. And the focus on lighting for un-electrified villages in Africa, India, Bangladesh, Haiti, and elsewhere is as it should be — light after sundown must be among the most critical uses of electricity.

To me, lighting is now a done deal, a solved problem. With solar panels and batteries plus extraordinarily efficient LED bulbs, light is, if I may so describe it, easy. Solar systems may now be designed for the most energy intensive, yet critical, application for a home — cooking. If we do so, applications like lighting and charging for phones, laptops, TVs and home electronics will come with cooking at incremental cost, as a byproduct.


At What Cost? ???

The prices of this next generation cooking system will represent amortized capital costs, and not the costs for fuel and the logistics infrastructure as today. The capital first costs are high for rural villagers in emerging economies, but if those costs are translated into monthly payments, paid using phones, as the villagers do today, they are reasonable and affordable, and over time cheaper than for LPG.

For instance, the monthly costs of a solar cooking solution costing, say, $1,200, with an up to 20-year life for solar panels, less for batteries, and with ~ 9 percent cost of money, would be close to Rs. 740/month, the same as that for a LPG cylinder without subsidy in India. This is about $11/month, or $0.37/day, or Rs. 25/day for a family of four. The poorest rural households worldwide pay more than this for kerosene burning today. The only “solution” cheaper would be the “free” cooking by collecting firewood and burning it in a cookstove, however crude or well-designed.

This solar-based cooking solution is not merely for rural households without electricity, or street vendors, or backyard cooking in the U.S. Even in apartment homes in urban areas, the solution can be deployed to deliver an even lower cost solution with suitable optimization.

A broader question arises: What is the hub of a microgrid design of the future? Substation? Supermarket? Municipality? Neighborhood? Home Owners Association? At least one hub might be a solution with cooking as the core application in a cluster of apartment buildings.

Images courtesy of Mahesh Bhave (at article link).

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/04/look-ma-no-fuel-fire-free-cooking-with-solar.html
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
« Reply #223 on: April 28, 2017, 02:21:05 pm »


Notes from the Solar Underground:  ;) US Solar’s Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act
   
April 28, 2017

By Paula Mints  Founder/Chief Market Research Analyst
 
There is nothing new about protectionism just as there is nothing new about aggressive pricing for market share, dumping of overproduction at low prices and the cascade of unintended consequences of government intervention on markets.

A free market is precisely what the word free implies that is, market prices and the choice of goods are set by the interactions of market participants. Under this definition, there are few, if any, free markets in the world.

Governments intervene to subsidize or incentivize production of goods and the acquisition of goods. In the U.S., farmers sometimes received subsidies not to produce under the assumption that over production would lead to a price collapse. Electricity rates in U.S. states must be approved by state PUCs. Subsidies provide affordable housing for poorer populations. Pick a market and you can find a government incentive, subsidy or a control of some sort.

Quote
So, seriously, there are few, if any, free markets .

The global solar industry relies on mandates, subsidies and incentives for its demand. Though it has enjoyed extraordinarily strong growth overtime this growth has come about because of, again, subsidies. Current low prices for PV modules are possible because of China’s support for its PV manufacturers. 

The 2012 U.S. tariff ruling on imports of cells and modules from China resulted in higher prices for small buyers   and, frankly, no price change for larger buyers  .  In sum, for larger buyers the sellers absorbed the tariff. The primary goal of sellers was sales, margin was secondary. Higher margins were gained from smaller sellers who also absorbed the tariff. Exporters were then not truly punished because the goals of the exporter (seller) were not properly understood.
 
The lesson is that market regulations, incentives, subsidies, mandates and tariffs come with unintended consequences. When tariffs are enacted the primary entity punished via higher prices is the buyer. The price pain felt by buyers is almost always the unintended consequence of the imposition of tariffs.

Just as markets are not entirely free, markets are also not entirely rational or controllable. Tastes change. Competing products rise. Drought and heavy rains affect agriculture. People go on strike. Recessions affect buying ability. Finally, sometimes people make irrational buying choices. Consider the cell phone which went from the size of a person’s arm to the size of a watch face to practically the size of a laptop computer screen and is now migrating back to not just watch face size, but to being an actual watch.

The point is that controlling buying patterns is close to impossible and punishing sellers for low prices typically punishes the buyers and worse … almost never brings back manufacturing jobs.

A good example of the unintended consequence of government intervention is the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930. In the 1920s an excess of agricultural production in Europe led to low price imports of produce into the U.S. Farmers suffered and Herbert Hoover promised that if he were elected president he would help U.S. farmers. (As an aside … if this seems familiar it should.     )

Enter Willis Hawley, Congressman, Oregon, and Reed Smoot, Senator, Utah. Smoot-Hawley began as a protection for farmers but after much debate fed by many special interests it was eventually attached to a wide variety of imports (~900). Other countries retaliated with their own tariffs. The U.S. trade deficit ballooned. Smoot-Hawley did not push the world into the Great Depression but it certainly was a card in the Depression playing deck.

In 1934, as part of the New Deal, President Franklin Roosevelt pushed the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act through and the short reign of protectionism in the U.S. ended … just in time for the beginning of World War II in 1939.

The Solar Point

Immediately following Suniva’s bankruptcy on April 17, rumors of a new trade dispute began and late in April Suniva, a U.S.-based monocrystalline manufacturer over 60 percent owned by a Chinese company, filed its trade dispute asking for a 40-cent/Wp tariff on all solar cells made outside the U.S. From Suniva’s point of view, the request makes sense as it is one of two crystalline solar cell manufacturers in the U.S. — the other being SolarWorld.

Proponents say that it would protect U.S. solar manufacturing but as there is very little U.S. manufacturing and the reasons for its demise are complex, there is little to protect.

Tariff opponents argue that cheaper prices for cells would help module assemblers and cheaper prices for modules would increase solar deployment.

The fact is that larger entities continued to enjoy low prices and will always enjoy lower prices than smaller demand side participants.

The fact is that bringing back U.S. solar manufacturing is close to impossible at this juncture using tariffs. It would require a lot of time (a lot of time), favorable taxes for producers as well as other manufacturing subsidies and most importantly, a healthy incentive for buyers to purchase modules made in America with crystalline and thin film cells made in America and … even then … the aluminum, the glass, the backsheet — something in the module will come from some other country.

The fact is that the products bought in the U.S., including the foods we eat, are often produced using components from other countries.

Finally … well-meaning or crowd-pleasing government intervention in the not-so-free-not-so-rational-extremely-complex global market always brings a host of complications with it and always brings a host of unintended consequences. Just ask Mr. Smoot and Mr. Hawley.  ;D

Don't miss Paula Mints' latest report, available at a discounted price through Renewable Energy World: Photovoltaic Manufacturer Capacity, Shipments, Price & Revenues 2016/2017

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/04/notes-from-the-solar-underground-us-solar-s-smoot-hawley-tariff-act.html

Agelbert NOTE: The biggest, and totally unjustified subsidy that we need to GET RID OF to level the energy market playing field is the oil and gas subsidy THEFT:

 



 



He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
« Reply #224 on: May 06, 2017, 01:11:28 pm »


The Solar PV Life Cycle Dilemma
   
May 5, 2017

By John R. Balfour 

John R. Balfour, MEP, PhD, is President and CTO of AstroPower Corp. Dr. Balfour has spent 32 of his 40 years of PV experience as an EPC and has been a PV energy consultant and author since 1977.
 

Historically and in essence, electric utilities simply do not buy 20- to 25-year energy generation technologies. In fact, utilities and public works organizations seldom if ever build on such a short time schedule. It is simply not practical or profitable to build a 25-year coal, nuclear, oil, gas or hydro project. Utility infrastructure development, engineering and construction do not lend themselves to short-term energy generation, financing or thinking.

There could be a message in this for the solar PV industry, where the present 20- to 25-year model is an anomaly that is slowing progress for the industry on our road to maturity. While price pressure has driven the industry thus far, is it possible that a number of important issues have been ignored?

Our logic flows in the following process.

A project is planned; land is identified, tied up either in purchase or lease; and entitlements and other agreements are secured that include long-term agreements for and with utilities, grid operators, government agencies and others. The project is then put up for EPC bidding, designed, graded and fenced; roads and substations are built, all taking a substantial amount of time, energy, effort and fiscal resources.

This does not include the base PV plant itself, which is also complex and expensive.

After all of this effort, the plant itself is often compromised in a rush to deliver an energy generator that’s primary focus is on being inexpensive. Slim specifications are generally assembled for EPC bidding that places the vast majority of decisions in the hands of the EPCs, not the owners. The challenge here is that if you have five EPCs bidding, the owner can or will end up with five different plant offerings. It may not necessarily be the best offering for the best plant life or levelized cost of energy.
 
Historically, the traditional values utilities require in projects include reliability, availability, maintainability, testability, and safety, which in the PV industry today tend to become secondary or tertiary issues. In essence, if it isn’t clearly detailed and required in the project specification prior to design, owners should not expect these traditionally valuable items. This is not negligence due to the EPC, it is simply because they were never required in initial bidding documentation.

Today, specifications for PV plants are minimal, whereas for all other energy generation technologies, they tend to be quite detailed and specific. This raises and supports a number of questions as to: “Is this the right model for a viable long-term and cost-effective approach to delivering energy?”

At the beginning of the existing approach, insufficient weight and discussion is given to what happens in years 10, 15 and 20, much less year 26 if any. This assumes that the plant actually lasts that long. In fact, if the plant has not been designed for a fuller more robust life: “What are the odds that plant will actually meet the initial design life?”

Issues of repowering are presently considered esoteric, something to be discussed over a drink, however not important enough, seemingly, to be a key element of the planning process. If this were not the case, then each PV project would include a repowering and a detailed site restoration plan.

Once all of the preliminary work has been completed and a plant has been built, how many issues were not given the full attention that they might have been if it was any other energy generation technology?

We propose that this issue becomes a greater part of the discussion in the PV industry and that the existing business model be challenged. That challenge should result in a new model that is more preemptive in nature. After all, once you’ve put that entire infrastructure in, “How much more does it cost to meet existing utility requirements versus tearing the plant out between years 12 and 25 or having to do a major rebuild?”

Logic and finance appears to favor the longer-term approach.  More importantly, it gives a far better opportunity for utility companies and/or other buyers of energy to buy consistently reliable, available, maintainable, safe and economically viably priced energy.

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/05/the-solar-pv-life-cycle-dilemma.html
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

 

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