Solar Energy

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All the solar news and background you need

Solar power isn't perfect, but it's about as perfect as we can get if we need heat or electricity and don't want to generate emissions by burning carbon-based fuels (coal, oil, gas) or hazardous waste from nuclear power plants. Here we'll see what is going on with solar technology- the good, the great and the horrible.

Ask questions if you have them, either in the guest book or by contacting me.

Feel free to leave links to your own favorite solar energy or related site in the guest book, also.

Welcome to this Solar Energy lens 

Introduction

I'll post key stories, links, blogs, resources, and comments, and offer my own commentary on solar energy-related issues. Discussion is definitely encouraged and welcome. Please sign the guest book and comment!

New Site for Discussing Solar Energy: Solar Cynosure 

Visit Dan E.'s new discussion group for Solar Energy, Solar Cynosure. Trade ideas on how to maximize the use of solar power. Get involved in discussions about connecting more people to the grid with distributed solar systems able to feed the grid. Ask questions!

Update from Loyd Case, 6 months after his solar installation at home 

As always, Mr. Case gives a detailed and balanced account of his experiences, now comparing summer and winter performance, and comparing costs for power vs. a single month before the solar system was installed.
Going Solar: Six Month Update - CPUs, Boards & Components by ExtremeTech
The doldrums of winter has arrived in the northern hemisphere, and also the six month update of ET editor Loyd Case's solar installation. Was it worth it?

How to Split an Atom 

An Intersting blog- links to some of its solar energy posts

Solar Paneled Race Car With 1800 Mile Range | How To Split An Atom
Gas prices are going down but there are still substantial environmental concerns that are turning more and more people towards Hybrid and Electrical vehicles.
Solar Powered Hospital | How To Split An Atom
50% of the power for Sutter-Auburn Faith Hospital in Sacramento California will be coming from solar soon. Set to be completed at the beginning of next year ...
Viable Solar Power Plants May Be On The Horizon | How To Split An Atom
Typically, solar power has been a difficult technology to commercialize on a large scale. The problems are efficiency and cost. Your average solar panel ... (refers to "conventional solar technology and newer technologies)

Note: see the next module for other links to low-cost solar panel tecnology

New and/or relevant solar and other energy links 

Web Site Overload 2: Solar and Energy... | Gather
Dec 23, 2008 Here is a list of alternate energy/solar news sites and blogs that should tell you more than you can possibly want to know about what's happening in the world of alternate energy.
Power in the desert: solar towers will harness sunshine of southern Spain
Once plant is inaugurated it will generate 20MW of electricity, enough to power 11,000 homes.

From the Guardian, U.K. (guardian.co.uk ) You might need to register (for free) to read the article.
Solar energy could supply 69% of our power by 2050 | Gather
Yup, I am not making that up. This is from Scientific American , dated January 2008. There is an article by Ken Zweibel, James Mason, and Vasilis Fthenakis that proposes a largescale project to harness the solar energy resources of the USA Southwest between now and the year 2050.
Solar power and electric cars, a winning... | Gather
How much surface does it take to supply solar energy? The image accompanying this article shows how much surface needs to be covered...
A PDF file about Mediterranean Renewable Energy
The Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC) has discussed plans to carry solar energy to Europe since 2003...

Only click if you want the PDF!
Solar Power & Renewables Update - By: Dale... | Gather
Jun 05, 2008 Here are two amazing statistics: (1) About 30% of new US generating capacity last year was from wind power.

Read on for more about the cost and benefits of wind and solar power, and some about the problems, too.
Topaz Solar Farm - 550-megawatt | Gather
May 05, 2008 OptiSolar is developing a 550-megawatt photovoltaic solar farm on the northwestern corner of Carrisa Plains, some 100 miles north of Los Angeles. The project will produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of about 190,000 average California homes...

MIT Scientists "Unlock Nirvana of Solar Power Storage": combined use of fuel and solar cells 

Splitting Water by Efficient Electrolysis to give Hydrogen and Oxygen; See video link

Hydrogen and Oxygen gases can be used in fuel cell technology to provide energy to a home, for example, and the gases can be produced by the action of sunlight on water with the help of certain solar cells, or photovoltaics, and additional components known as catalysts. This means that solar energy can be used to power a home (etc.) during the day by generating electricity, and excess electricity could be stored in various ways.

Please note that Sam Carana has written a lot about the hydrogen economy, and he covered this same story, but with more technical information about the new science and catalysts, here.

Batteries are typically thought of for storage of electricity, but another option is offered by the power of sunlight: energy storage through generation of hydrogen and oxygen by the process known as electrolysis. Electrolysis can be made more efficient by catalysts, and a new, breakthrough catalyst has just been discovered:

As described by Mariella Moon of ExtremeTech, "... one catalyst would be responsible for producing oxygen gas from water, while another would produce hydrogen. The hydrogen and oxygen could be recombined in a fuel cell to power the home at night where solar energy isn't readily available..."

Hydrogen and oxygen would accumulate during the day from excess electricity capacity of a solar cell system, and then these gases would power a fuel cell that would, in turn, power a house overnight. The byproduct of the fuel cell, water, could then be re-used for water splitting the next day.

Illustrations of the idea and video from principle scientist D. Nocera of MIT is shown at the GoodCleanTech site, the Green Blog of pcmag.com, as posted by Mariella Moon.

The key to this new catalyst is that it does not require expensive metals like platinum, yet it works at atmospheric pressure, room temperature and moderate pH.

Solar Energy Installation on YouTube 

Solar Installation Video

Solar energy Installation.

Runtime: 9:49
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Have solar or wind power installed at home! 

solar power installation links, including video-updated 

Home and Corporate Examples

Something New Under the Sun | Popular Science
A GM plant in Spain is constructing the world's largest rooftop solar-power. Like analog TV and Marshall Tucker fans, solar power is a holdover from the Carter administration. Yet, for modern businesses like Google and General Motors, it's a promising alternative energy source.
Solar Power: Questions and Answers - Opinions by ExtremeTech
From Loyd Case of ExtremeTech: "My series of articles on installing a photovoltaic array on my house prompted a lot of questions. So here are a few answers."

My comment: This follow-up article to the series of three previous articles clears up confusion about batteries (there aren't any!) etc.
Going Solar Power: One Month Later by Loyd Case of ExtremeTech
After a few weeks of running the solar power system, I got my first power bill. Plus, the monitoring system is up and running. , although it's only for 19 days, not the usual 29 or 30.

So what was my electricity bill for 19 days?

$11.34.
Living on Solar
We live in an all solar home. We heat, cool and power our home using solar energy. We even created a website that tells how we do it with videos that show how we do it. We are glad to share what we have learned over the last 20 years with those who may do the same or want to learn more about solar.
Installing Solar Energy into your home...
The low down on installing solar power to your home.
Official Google Blog: Corporate solar is coming
Corporate solar is coming; Posted by Robyn Beavers, Corporate Environmental Programs Manager... urban indoor workspaces infused with natural light, enthusiasm for the outdoors: at Google, we've always taken advantage of the sun. And now we're ready to use the sun yet another way: to create clean electricity.
GM FYI Blog: VIDEO: GM Builds World's Largest Solar Power Installation
While we're laying kind of low here in North America during the annual summer shutdown period, our friends at GM Europe are hard at work. Here's a video they sent over about the installation of the world's largest solar energy station on the rooftop of a GM assembly plant in Zaragoza, Spain. - Will Stewart, blog editor
Neighborhoodtimes: More solar power to him - on roof
A homeowner uses panels to harness the sun's energy for $10,000 now but tiny electricity bills later.

Tampa Bay's news, shopping and information source brought to you by the St. Petersburg Times and tbt*.
Go Solar Power For Homes
Discover how solar power for homes can slash your energy bills by hundreds of dollars - 80% or more! Create your own electricity. Save the planet. Save a fortune. Perfect!

Eco-friendly products: rechargable batteries 

Make sure to recycle all batteries properly



How to Recycle Batteries, "normal" or rechargable

How to dispose of batteries properly, "normal" or rechargable

Solar Power News 

Ovi Magazine : Moura Renewable Energies Project by Luis Alves
"... with emphasis on solar photovoltaics. The production will be carried out by centralized PV power plants, the Alqueva Hydroelectric Plant, small hydro plants, mini PV power plants and micro-generation."
The push for solar thermal | Videos on ZDNet
At the Intersolar Conference 2008 in San Franicisco, Fred Morse, senior advisor at Abengoa Solar says, Don't underestimate thermal storage. The veteran solar industry exec talks about the benefits of concentrating solar technologies and the reasons why utility companies are starting to back thermal
'Avalanche Effect' In Solar Cells Demonstrated
TU Delft and FOM (the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter) reported in Nano Letters their proof that some nanocrystalline materials are capable of generating more than one electron per photon, confirming the core concept of results originally reported by Los Alamos National Laboratory in the US. These discoveries may allow much more efficient solar cells to be made from nanocrystalline materials than from conventional semiconductors. Found via Thoughts on Global Warming:
http://thoughtsonglobalwarming.blogspot.com/
eSolar and Southern California Edison Sign Power Purchase Agreement
From June 3, 2008 solarbuzz:
http://www.solarbuzz.com/news/NewsNAPR1101.htm

Today, eSolar, a producer of scalable solar thermal power plants, announced that it has signed a power purchase agreement with Southern California Edison (SCE) to build a total of 245 megawatts (MW) of concentrating solar plants in the Antelope Valley region of Southern California. The series of fully operational plants will begin production in 2011.
Kyocera Supplies Solar Modules for Central Arizona's First All-Solar Housing Developments
From June 2, 2008 solarbuzz:
http://www.solarbuzz.com/news/NewsNAPR1102.htm

Kyocera Solar has partnered with Zacher Homes and American Solar Electric to bring solar electric systems to Central Arizona's mainstream luxury housing market as a standard feature. The custom homebuilder's three new, all-solar, single-family housing developments in north-central Phoenix will feature solar electric systems on each home incorporating state-of-the-art Kyocera solar modules.
The Energy Lady
From the U.K.: "Save Energy Now. Tomorrow May Be Too Late. Think Global, Act Local"
SF Passes Largest City Solar Program in U.S. (Finally) %uFFFD Earth2Tech
Helping the Earth with Technology in San Francisco
Solar Shingles: BLM Reverses Course on Solar Energy Project Moratorium
The next push is to convince BLM to expedite the processing of the applications that have already been submitted. As of the date of this publishing, BLM has not approved a single solar energy project.

Solar ShinglesSolar shingles are an incredible breakthrough in the solar power market. They look like regular roof shingles, but they contain thin film photovoltaic cells - solar cells (PV), which harness solar energy. Solar shingles are very attractive and powerful.

Environmental Links 

being added to every day

Chemistry for a Sustainable World
My own blog about environmental issues, energy issues, pollution, solutions and public policy. Focus is on the USA and the world.
Sustainability and the environment Headquarters
Sustainability and the environment. This group is for any lens related to the environment, sustainability, conservation, alternative energy, environmental debate, practical green living, public environmental and energy policy, and related matters. Discussion and disagreement are welcome.
Recommended Books at Powells
Books on Green Chemistry.
Sustainable Society USA
Real people and practical sustainability.
Treehugger.com
A major environmental site, one of the most influential sites in the world, in any category.
Green Options
A blog about practical green choices.
Best Green Blogs
A collection of the best blogs to read for environmental and other green issues.
Solar Power goes to Extremes for 5 cents per kWh
Solar Power goes to Extremes for 5cents per Watt
May 11, 2008 in education, environment, science, science and society, sustainabilityTags: advances in solar power, cheap solar energy, solar panels, clean power, cleantech, sustainability

Michelle Bennett of Cleantechnica.com with the latest on solar concentrators coupled to solar panels: "We already know that concentrated solar power (CSP) is shaking things up in the solar industry. A subset within the industry is turning up the heat. "Extreme" Concentrated solar magnifies intense sunlight onto a solar cell, at temperatures that could melt it, to boost efficiency for less money."
Green Eggs and Planet
Good green articles!
Stephen Leahy, Environmental Journalist
Environmental News.
Life Less Plastic
How to minimize your use of plastic.
Thoughts on Global Warming
Stay in touch with the latest!
Live Green, Live Smart
Practical green living.
Sorting Out Science
Science made clear.
Go Green: The Database for Education
From Edutopia
Commonsense Agriculture, Conservation, Energy
Practical tips for agriculture, conservation and energy.
Earth & Economy
Hand-picked green links. Sign up for RSS!
Suntech Powers Up Its Solar Wafer Supply
"Suntech is improving its wafer supply in hopes of becoming a leading manufacturer of solar modules."

From Melida Peer at Forbes
How to recycle used battries
Do you wondering on what to do for used battery and how to safety disposed and recycled a used battery, then here will be the place you could find the solutions.
How to dispose of batteries properly
Consider doing something else with your old batteries. Unlike glass, paper, and plastic, which fill up landfills, but are relatively benign, batteries are filled with reactive chemicals. Take a minute to learn more about how you can properly dispose of batteries, and help keep hazardous, toxic chemi

Solar cells/solar panels- how do they work? A very basic and preliminary, conversational intro.  

Ask Questions!

"On Solar Cells" © James K. Bashkin, 2008

All solar cells work in basically the same way (there are really two basic ways, but the technicalities aren't important to this discussion, at least yet).

Semiconductors are the key, and these materials are characterized primarily, to a first approximation, by their composition (like gallium arsenide or indium phosphide) and band gap. The band gap can be thought of as the amount of energy, such as the energy supplied by a photon (light), that is required to promote an electron from the nonconducting valence band to the conduction band. Quick definition: photon, or particle of light, refers to the particle side of light's wave-particle duality.

Manufacturing techniques can vary significantly for solar cells (solar panels), some being very complicated, involving the careful growth of crystals on top of other crystals under high vacuum conditions, and other techniques being as simple as spraying or painting a few payers of paint or ink. A lot of clever invention went into all of these designs.

One important idea relevant to this discussion is Einstein's photoelectric effect. However, photocells were discovered experimentally before the photoelectric effect was proposed, and the photoelectric effect was actually proposed theoretically before equipment was good enough to prove it was true, experimentally. I realize this sounds like a circular argument, and it would be if the photoelectric effect and photocells were exactly the same the thing, but they aren't. The photoelectric effect describes how light can eject electrons from metals and other substances. Photocells are made of nonmetallic semiconductors that are not conductors but can be turned into conductors under the influence of absorbed photons. For photocells, light doesn't eject electrons but causes charge to flow, or electricity to be generated and conducted through the material.

One of the design issues is how to make photocells that use the solar spectrum efficiently. This is one of the reasons why a variety of materials and approaches are used, and often combined. to give a final panel design. It also helps explain why photocells for satellites have different requirements than photocells for earth: the atmosphere around earth absorbs light, as you know, and this changes the available solar spectrum vs. what is available in space.

Once a semiconductor absorbs a photon (or several), it becomes a conductor. However, the efficiency of charge conduction (electrical conduction) is related to things like how many so-called charge carriers are available, the mobility of these charge carriers through the material, and to the ability of the material to avoid what is called recombination, where the + and - charge recombine, giving off heat and no electricity, and therefore waste the absorbed photon.

Much of the elegant design of natural photosynthetic systems has evolved to maximize efficiency and minimize nonproductive recombination.

Does any of this help?

Note to cherished physicists, chemists, et al., please offer corrections if you like, but please consider that I will make this continuing discussion more sophisticated over time, with additional installments and even references/literature citations! So far, it is just off the top of my head, as it were. I would appreciate it if you would distinguish between oversimplifications and true errors. The latter I'm glad to hear about while the former is here on purpose, to help people without technical training develop some sense of how solar cells work. JKB

Solar cells that avoid petroleum-based materials 

GreenTechnolog and Ecofriend report on Biosolar's greener, cheaper solar cells

"California based Bio Solar has a different slant on making solar cells ... rather than focusing on improving the efficiency they focus on reducing the cost and using non petroleum based materials."
Click to read the article at GreenTechnoLog

Click to read the article at Ecofriend, where I saw it first (via InstaBlogs.com)

DIscussion of energy policies and what they mean to us 

"Who Goes First, The Chicken or the Egg?" by Sam Carana

"In discussions about global warming, many are reluctant to make 'the first move'. The coal industry points at figures by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), showing that coal accounted for 'only' 39% of the world total carbon dioxide emissions in 2004, while emissions from oil were larger. In reply, the oil industry points at EIA projections that coal looks set to become the largest energy source by 2010."
Click to read the full article.

Google invests in Solar Energy power plants with eSolar 

As reported by AlwaysOn and Chemistry for a Sustainable World, a press release announced that eSolar has raised $130 million with the help of Google and other investors. eSolar makes solar-based power plants, and it is great to see this investment even when the economy is suffering, because it is so important for our future.

Professional Solar Installation, Tax Rebate Info and More: 

Here is one possible solar panel-based system: 


1.1kW Grid-Tied Solar Electric System - $ 7503.00
GoGreenSolar.com 1.1kW grid-tie PV power systems are designed for use on residential and small commercial buildings. They consist of high quality Evergreen (PV) modules, a Kaco inverter, array wiring, DC and AC disconnects, UniRac mounting structures to secure modules on the roof, electrical drawings, data sheets, warranties and instructions. Solar Electric Photovoltaic starter system can be combined to form larger systems to meet your requirements, in the future. The GoGreenSolar.com starter system can reduce part of your bill, or eliminate higher cost electricity in locations that have progressively increasing rates as consumption increases. The starter kit system gives you all the benefits of utility interconnection and net metering for a low upfront investment. This kit qualifies for rebates and tax credits depending on the state you live in.

Feed from Chemistry for a Sustainable World 

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Commentary 

Thanks and installation of solar or wind power

Thanks to legbamel for his encouragement- check out Urban Sprawl and the Environment.

Since I have a love of the arts, literature and music in addition to my strong feelings about the environment, I was delighted to find lensmaster, Classic, who is prolific and a pleasure to read. Read Classic's lens Albatross, for example!

For more about what I'm up to: I operate at DIGG, Reddit, bloggingzoom, blogcatalog, gather.com and a few other sites I can't think of now under the name chemrat. My main blogs are Nearly nothing but novels: fiction and crime fiction book reviews and Chemistry for a sustainable world. There is some good environmental discussion in the comments at gather.com, along with good articles by many (SamCarana and Steve B. being two who have a lot of specific information on energy issues).

I am excited about a new service, GoGreenSolar, which operates all over the US and in many parts of the world, that helps you find installers of solar and wind power, including competing bids, and gives lots of detailed advice on the various choices and tax rebates. It works based on your zip code/post code, along with specific information about your home or other building of interest. I bring it up here because I have had countless requests for specific information and advice about installing solar power, both solar heating and solar panels for electricity.

I have a strong statement to make about alternative energy. I find that it is easy to make the case for moving away from carbon-based energy sources (coal, oil, natural gas) for reasons of pollution, health and global stability without referring to Global Warming. I say that not because I dispute Global Warming (quite the contrary), but because I've found many people who are emotionally invested in various anti-Global Warming positions (as in GW is a conspiracy of "left-wing anarchists"). However, these same people will in many cases completely buy into the idea of alternative energy for reasons that air pollution, toxic waste, war, and many other problems can be attributed to fossil fuel use.

I'd be very interested to hear any comments on these thoughts. Thanks.

Spotlight on a Solar Energy Book 

Integrating solar cells (photovoltaics) into buildings

Designing with Solar Power: A Source Book for Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)

Designing with Solar Power: A Source Book for Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)

Amazon Price: $71.43 (as of 07/05/2009)Buy Now

Building Integrated PhotoVoltaics (BIPV), by the Director of the SOLARCH Group, University of New South Wales Centre for a Sustainable Environment, Australia and is a Director of the International Solar Energy Society. Mark Snow is a senior researcher at the SOLARCH Group.

Release Date: 12/31/1969

My tagged stories at Treehugger's Hugg.com 

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New Guestbook 

Lensmaster

MakeYourOwnSolarPanel wrote...

This is an excellent and very informative lens on solar power. I'm just about to read more about the Bio Solar Company. Improving efficiency in making solar panels is undoubtedly good but one of the main reasons people are not doing it is the initial cost to have it done. It would be really good when the cost of making a solar panel is significantly slashed down.

ReplyPosted April 22, 2009

Lensmaster

Chasbat wrote...

Really informative lens, lots of great content. We really need to be turning our back's on fossil fuels right now, I think the more people that are getting the message out there raising the profile of solar power generation the better. I have started my own solar power blog, if you get a chance, check it out.

ReplyPosted April 10, 2009

Lensmaster

Spitfire42 wrote...

One of the best lenses on solar energy I've seen! Tons of great info here. I have a lens on renewable energy you might be interested in as well. Thanks again for all the great info!

ReplyPosted March 29, 2009

Lensmaster

chemrat wrote...

in reply to Mechanical Engineer Thanks Mech Eng! You bring up an excellent point about the rebates. Best wishes, Jim

ReplyPosted February 26, 2009

Lensmaster

chemrat wrote...

in reply to Gmomofive Thanks so much! I'll stop by to see the other lenses, too. Best wishes, Jim

ReplyPosted February 26, 2009

Lensmaster

Mechanical Engineer wrote

Solar energy is definitely the way of the future. I like the fact that you included so much information about the history of solar panels. I did not realize we burned so much coal 39%, wow!!! Also, I encourage everyone who wants to install solar panels to find out what solar rebates they qualify for.

Reply Posted February 25, 2009

 
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More solar energy theory and practice from Amazon 

Photovoltaic Solar Energy Generation (Springer Series in Optical Sciences)

Photovoltaic Solar Energy Generation (Springer Series in Optical Sciences)

by: Adolf Goetzberger, Volker U. Hoffmann

Amazon Price: $130.45 (as of 07/05/2009) Buy Now

Handbook of Photovoltaic Science and Engineering

Handbook of Photovoltaic Science and Engineering

Amazon Price: $316.00 (as of 07/05/2009) Buy Now

Got Sun? Go Solar: Get Free Renewable Energy to Power Your Grid-Tied Home

Got Sun? Go Solar: Get Free Renewable Energy to Power Your Grid-Tied Home

by: Rex A. Ewing; Doug Pratt

Amazon Price: $18.95 (as of 07/05/2009) Buy Now

Designing with Solar Power: A Source Book for Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)

Designing with Solar Power: A Source Book for Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)

Amazon Price: $71.43 (as of 07/05/2009) Buy Now

Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells: Technology and Systems Applications

Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells: Technology and Systems Applications

by: Adolf Goetzberger, Joachim Knobloch, Bernhard Voss

Amazon Price: $175.50 (as of 07/05/2009) Buy Now

Find out how to install solar heating or solar panels: 

New Igo GREEN Tip of the Day 

Creative Commons License 

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

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