A simple glass sphere could change the future of Solar Power

A new type of glass sphere can revolutionise the solar energy field.

It is not a secret anymore that the sun in one of the biggest sources of energy available on our planet. Still, we haven’t reached a point where we are using it to its maximum power. Most of the photovolataic panels around the world can only perform as high as 15% or less, and if they don’t use a tracking device, their efficiency is even lower. So, we learn that the energy from the sun is not as productive as it could be.

Andre Broessel, a German architect living in Barcelona, can solve the problem. He purpose is to “squeeze more juice out of the sun.” And that is how he designed Rawlemon.

If you put together spherical geometry principles with their dual axis tracking system, Rawlemon can produce twice as much energy as a normal solar panel, if both are located on a vertical set-up. Moreover, the sphere can minimize the cell surface to 1%, as a lot more cells could fit into a specific area and also concentrate its power to make a lot more sustainable, cheap power.

As opposed to conventional solar panels, this new invented device, can benefit from a fully rotational weather-proof natural optical tracking system that can be used on inclined areas, walls, and any other location with sunlight. The unit can use a modular collector system that is able to charge and store power day and night, both from the sun and the moon.

Google collaborates with SunPower for leasing solar panels to homeowners

Goggle Inc. and solar panel producer Sun Power Corp shaking hands for leasing

The two companies will put $250 million in leasing solar systems to homeowners. The search engine giant is investing nearly $100 million, while the solar panel maker is contributing with $150 million. Google declared that the purpose of this program is to facilitate the procces of going green for thousands of homeowners in the U.S.A.

“Using the fund… we buy the solar panel systems. Then we lease them to homeowners at a cost that’s typically lower than their normal electricity bill”, said Google.

Gooogle supports green energy

Google and SunPower put $250 million in solar panels leasing program

Google invests in solar

The Mountain View technology giant’s plans come after a major boost in financing methodes. The number of homeowners that can benefit from the leasing program is growing and than they buy them outright.

Solar energy based companies are also in search of creative methods of investing in their business.

Solar leasing not for everyone

Solar producers that collaborate with homeowners regularly have difficulties when they are trying to pursue traditional banks to put their money into anything that isn’t a large-scale project, as analysts report. A lot of investment firms do not know the uncertainties that come with solar energy and don’t want to wait out the payout period, that can last many years.

Google seems to be very interested in long term investments in solar energy project in the upcoming years.

The company mentioned has invested in solar leasing before with the help of SolarCity and Clean Power Finance. In November, the company announced its plans to contribute with up tp $80 million for six utility scale solar facilities in two states: California and Arizona.

Apple wants to go 100% green

Apple has plans to embrace green energy

Apple adopts a green policy in order to reduce pollution

Apple goes green

Apple announced initiatives Monday to offer free recycling of its products, as well as plans to use renewable energy sources at its 420 worldwide stores.

Apple is willing to recycle freely all the old products and promises to use green energy for all the stores, offices and data centers in order to bring down the pollution level made by tits devices and online services.

The technology giant gave more details about a greener Apple company in a special section at the section made especially for clean energy launched on Monday. This section’s purpose is to accentuate the iPhone and iPad producer is enlarging confidence in renewable energy and is polluting less with its used electronics.

Apple goes green policy

The electronics company has been rewording its customers from the over 400 stores if they brought iPhones and iPods that could be recycled. They were rewarded with gift card. The company founded by Steve Jobs is now recycle any used Apple device with zero costs.

Taking into account the fact that Apple sold more than 1 billion iPhones, iPods, iPads and Mac computers, this comes as a huge progress. The procedure is valid for electronics that cannot be thrown away as they contain toxins. Their products sand for about 2% of the emissions in 2012 as the statistics from Greenpeace say. Some of the largest electricity demands come from data center that house the stacks of computers that process search requests, store photos and email, and stream video. These services often consume more electricity than China, the U.S., Japan, India and Russia. Being the world’s largest technology company, Apple wants to bring more environmental solutions than problems.

Moreover, the company is not doing this just for good publicity. As a recent review says, Greenpeace is praising Apple and it describes it to be “the most innovative and most aggressive in pursuing its commitment to be 100 percent renewably powered.”

Google to purchase solar based drone company

The search engine giant takes New Mexico – based Titan Aerospace a company that is producing unmanned, solar-powered jets conceived to fly many years at a time.

The new Google purchase was announced this Monday and Titan Aerospace for a confidential amount in a step that brings the technology giant in a race for the unmanned skies.

Solar power drones bought by Google

Titan Aerospace Solar purchased by Google

After Facebook’s $20 million acquisition of U.K. – based aerospace company Ascenta – that was developing the unmanned, solar-powered aerial drones for some time – the search engine giant moved quickly to take over the expected bid for Facebook to purchase the Titan Aerospace too.

The company from New Mexico has also been interested in developing solar powered drones made to fly continuously for many years as, a solar science that Google needs to use mainly to expand its prestige and be available in as many places on earth as possible.

Even if the amount that Google paid to a close source said that the technology giant was willing to pay more than anyone from Facebook for the Titan Aerospace. The purchased company only has a staff of 20 people and its location will remain New Mexico to carry on with its work and help Google provide internet in different corners on earth that are currently without cellphone towers or telephone wires.

Solar-powered drones bring an interesting aspect for companies such as Google and Facebook because of the reliability and stability in all kinds of weather conditions, whereas fossil fuel- or battery-powered unmanned aircraft are way more expensive and less promising.

Google gets better quality images

The two companies will work together to provide the material and to design the drone’s components and also to research algorithms that assure an improved traverse wind patterns and flight routes. The purpose is to gather real-time, high quality images of the earth with a lot more details needed for Google Maps but not only.

“It is still early days, but atmospheric satellites could help bring internet access to millions of people, and help solve other problems, including disaster relief and environmental damage like deforestation”, said a Google statement announcing the acquisition.

A new way of using solar energy is developing- solar skyscraper windows

Scientists discovered a way to capture solar energy from the sun

Semi-transparent cells to be used in skyscrapers for solar energy

Solar technology is taking a step forward and could make use of giant building’s windows and build them to be solar-power generating glass.

The newly developing type of solar cells merges semi-transparency with better productivity is going to transform the global Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) market.

As it’s founders announce, the transparent strengthened PV panels could be produced starting from 2015.

The researches were done by the Oxford University physicists and Oxford Photovoltaics co-founder Professor Henry Snaith. The revealed that the new inventions was possible with the help of the oxide mineral perovskite.

The new developed cells have proved their performance by achieving 15% in the past year, outdistancing all other newly developed green technologies that didn’t break the 14% barrier even if their discovery took years.

The most important answer the scientists got has something to do with the glow associated with the use of prerokative. So, they managed to create semi-transparent cells that allow owners to clearly view outside.

The licence to the technology belongs to Oxford Photovoltaics, awarded with the British Renewable Energy Association’s Innovation Award, the UK Business Angels’ Best Early Stage Investment in a Disruptive Technology Business Award and the Solar Award for Excellence: BIPV Innovation at the 2013 Solar UK Industry Awards.

The past December, professor Snaith was nominated by Nature magazine as being one of the ten people that mattered from science’s point of view.

“The pace of development, of this new solar technology, alongside ongoing research into storage solutions, means that photovoltaics will play an increasingly important role in meeting future energy demand globally,” the professor said.

Kevin Arthur, Oxford PV Chief Executive’s words are: “We’re making great progress towards commercialisation of this ground-breaking technology and expect to sign our first licensing deals early next year. This research also emphasises the importance of nurturing links between business and academic institutions. Our sponsorship of PhD students delivers extra capacity to push our work through faster and builds a pipeline of great talent for our company. All of this will help the UK become a world leader in the multi-trillion pound electricity generation industry. ”

Half a million homes roofed by solar panel by the end of the year in the UK

Until 2014 solar paels will reach half a million in the U.K

UK will have haalf a million installed solar panels

Half a million homes from the United Kingdom to own solar panels. This panels are to be installed on until the end of the year. Moreover, the clean energy industry says it could reach a million two years from now.

Half a million homes to be coved by solar panels in the British country until the end of the year as official figures show. In addition to this, the clean energy industry says the number will double by 2015.

Data given by the British government reveal that 495,459 solar panels were already installed. Most of them were planted on houses as a program of subsidies began three years ago. In this rhythm of more than 2,800 panels per week, the half million achievement could happen by the end of the year when about 2% of U.K homes will own a solar panel.

The Solar Trade Association announced that it wants to reach 1 million installations until the end of 2015.

Those who install solar panels under the ‘feed in tariff’ scheme will benefits from subsidies which are paid for through levies on all consumer energy bills.

Ministers’ initial effort to reduce the tariffs in in December 2011were controlled illegally by the High Court. Still the tariffs were eventually cut in March 2012 and the installation rate declined.

The cost of subsidies for small renewable installations like solar panels and wind turbines were £500m in the year to April 2013, against original forecast of £200m.

Untill 2015 they will reach £817m, meaning they will almost double the original £446m forecast.

New photovoltaic plants are going to give energy in Romania

The Colibasi plant brings up PV energy in Romania

Romania solar potential is building up

The energy supplier, Enel Green Power has connected to the PV plant situated in Colibaşi, located south-eastern Romanian county of Giurgiu, to the grid.

More capacity was accepted to the grid by Romania during this week when Rome-based Enel Green Power wired its 6.5 MW Colibasi PV plant.

This plant is situated in the south-east of the country, in Giurgiu county to be precise, and it is said to be responsible for generating nearly eight million kWh of power per year. This supply is said to be able to provide green energy for 7,000 Romanian households and minimize carbon emissions in the region by as much as 4,000 tones each and every year.

The plant from Colibaşi is the third solar installation in Romania from Enel Green Power, an institution that now has have 26 MW of solar PV capacity in the country. The other two Photovoltaic plants owned by them are Berceni 1 and Berceni 2.

Still, the company manages to go all the way until its solar output matches the 498 MW wind capacity they currently boast in the country.

As a recent IHS reports shows, Romania is said to be situated within the fastest-growing solar markets in Europe, considering the 175.5 of solar power available since the first half of 2013 and the 2.7 GW about to be installed in the next couple of years.

New researches predict the use of black metals in PV industry

There is a possibility that black metals will be a part of PV

Black metal is said to be a part of PV industry

The development of more efficient solar cells helped researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) from U.S.A make an important discovery: black metals in PV production.

The work with nanostructurated metals which are made to have low reflectivity and high absorption of visible and infrared light paid off for The LLNL Materials Engineering Division research team.

Working with nanostructurated metals involved the work with non-classic black metals which are considered to be a kind of extension of the black silicon concept. This means that when silicon is treated in a special way, fro example when it is being roughened at the nanoscale level, it gathers light by multiple reflections and helps to increase the absorption. This is a result of the silicon’s black surface that is capable of better trapping full sun’s wavelength spectrum.

The experiment team led by LLNL engineer Tiziana Bond helped with the discovery of the way that an absorption can trap a bigger quantity of solar wavelengths by improving and controlling the efficiency of the absorption and transform the metals in black metals. This kind of technology may be used in PV development. Moreover, similar black metals are developed by all kinds of nanostructuring between silver and gold but without the certainty of a full solar absorption.

“Our article was picked for the cover story of Applied Physics Letters because it represents cutting-edge work in the area of plasmonics, the broadband operation obtained with a clear design and its implication for the photovoltaic yield,” as Bond announced.

Roxana Moraru

PV generation saved by the Japanese government. The companies are offer low-interests loans

The government in Japan is willing to help the Pv industry bloom. Regarding this matter, the government thought is for the best that the companies are offered low-interest loans for. The offer is available to those who install rooftop power systems.

The Japanese government is offering to help rooftop PV installers boost.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Japan will soon provide secure low interest loans to companies burrowing rooftop space for solar panels.

Citing the Nikkei newspaper, Bloomberg informs that the credit will be available via public financial institutions such as the Development Bank of Japan.

Companies will be allowed to sell electricity produced by the solar panels on the rooftops of people’s homes. These homeowners will also have something to gain in return for renting their rooftop space: they will receive between 10,000 yen ($97, €75) and 20,000 yen ($195, €150) a year.

Roxana Moraru

Scientific breakthrough that will increase the conversion efficiency of solar photons into electricity

Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the University of Colorado, Boulder (UCB), have reported the first designed molecular system that produces two triplet states from an excited singlet state of a molecule, with essentially perfect efficiency. The breakthrough could lead to a 35 percent increase in light-harvesting yield in cells for photovoltaics and solar fuels. The experiments, using a process called singlet fission, demonstrated a 200 percent quantum yield for the creation of two triplets of the molecule 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran (DPIBF) at low temperatures. In singlet fission, a light-absorbing molecular chromophore shares its energy with a nearby non-excited neighreackthroghboring molecule to yield a triplet excited state of each. If the two triplets behave independently, two electron-hole pairs can be generated for each photon absorbed in a solar cell. This process could subsequently increase by one third the conversion efficiency of solar photons into electricity or solar fuels.

The researchers identified DPIBF as a promising candidate while searching for molecular chromophores that have the required ratio of singlet and triplet energy states.

Earlier, NREL and Los Alamos National Laboaratory had demonstrated an analgous two-electrons-from-one photon bonus using semiconductor quantum dots in a process NREL termed Multiple Exciton Generation. The latest advance is the first to demonstrate the electron multiplication phenomenon via the singlet-fission process in molecules.

Until this most recent advance, singlet fission had been known as a somewhat obscure phenomenon occurring at low efficiency in a small number of molecular systems. In 2004, NREL and UCB revisited singlet fission as a potential way to maximize solar photon conversion efficiency. In 2006, NREL’s Arthur J. Nozik and Mark C. Hanna calculated the gains in thermodynamic efficiencies that were possible with solar cells based on singlet fission. These activities led to a much more extensive search for the best candidate molecules in a collaboration between NREL and the research group at the UCB led by Josef Mic

Source: http://energyportal.eu/latest-solar-energy-news/9640-scientists-generate-two-energetic-electronic-states-from-one-photon.html