The Future is Clear

Imagine a city that’s actually a vast solar energy harvesting system. A team of Michigan State University researchers has developed a technology that can turn transparent surfaces, from building windows to cell phones, into solar collecting surfaces – without obstructing the view.

ARPA-E Project Combines Heat and Electricity | MIT Technology Review

The government’s energy research agency is spending $30 million to demonstrate cheap solar power that’s available day and night.

By Kevin Bullis on July 31, 2013

Combining the strengths of two different solar technologies could yield “hybrid solar power” that works even at night or when it’s cloudy.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy is devoting $30 million to several demonstration projects that will attempt to combine photovoltaics with solar thermal. Early-stage work being conducted by researchers around the U.S. hints at how the combined technology might work.
Read the full story: ARPA-E Project Combines Heat and Electricity | MIT Technology Review

Times of Oman | Feature :: Hybrid power plants: Renewable energy’s newest trend

byJohn Brian Shannon - Special to Times of Oman

Photo - SolarPraxis.de

One option for renewable energy producers that has been open to utility companies but rarely utilized, is the installation of both wind and solar power plants together at the same location, which results in a doubling in the amount of electricity produced. Prior to a study done by Reiner Lemoine Institut and Solarpraxis AG, it was (incorrectly) thought that the huge towers upon which the wind turbines are mounted would cast huge shadows over the photovoltaic solar panel array, thereby reducing their efficiency by a significant factor. It turns out that when solar and wind power generation are combined on the same site, such hybrid power plants complement each other better, than had been imagined. Approximately twice the power generation is available from any such hybrid power plant site, when compared to wind or solar only. The landmark study took into account the amount of sunlight loss (shading) which would occur in a carefully designed hybrid power plant. Energy losses were less than 2 percent of total output. This is a lower energy loss percentage, than compared to conventional power plant energy, such as coal — where up to 10 percent of the coal can be lost during transport from North America to China, or from Australia to China, and later storage, for example. A major benefit of such hybrid power plants is that due to the relative intermittency of both wind power and solar power is they tend to cancel out the others weaknesses. Grid expansion, is therefore not required for hybrid power plants. Wind power peaks at night, during cool days, and in the colder seasons of the year — while solar produces power during the daylight hours, the warmer parts of the day and most especially during the warmer seasons, when the Sun is high in the sky, directly over the solar panel array... Read the full story - Times of Oman | Feature :: Hybrid power plants: Renewable energy’s newest trend

Economic Analysis of a Wind–Solar Hybrid Renewable Energy System

Chong et al. - 2011 - Techno-economic analysis of a wind–solar hybrid renewable energy system with rainwate...

‘Artificial leaf’ makes fuel from sunlight - MIT News Office

‘Artificial leaf’ makes fuel from sunlight - MIT News Office

Could U.S. Get 20% of Electricity from Solar Under Power Lines? | john-farrell-ilsr

Let's go a step further... Use the towers themselves as hybrid vibration, wind, solar and gravity power and storage framework. Definitely a step in the right direction though... | cindy s martin

Could U.S. Get 20% of Electricity from Solar Under Power Lines? | john-farrell-ilsr

What if the U.S. could get 20 percent of its power from solar near transmission lines without covering virgin desert?

It could. Transmission right-of-way corridors, vast swaths of vegetation-free landscape to protect high-voltage power lines, could provide enough space for over 600,000 megawatts of solar PV. These arrays could provide enough electricity to meet 20 percent of the country's electric needs. (Note: There may not be good interconnection opportunities for solar under these huge towers, so this should be read as a land use discussion rather than technical analysis of interconnection to the grid.)

It starts with the federal Government Accountability Office, which estimates there are 155,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines in the United States (defined as lines 230 kilovolts and higher). According to at least two major utilities (Duke Energy and theTennessee Valley Authority), such power lines require a minimum of 150 feet of right-of-way — land generally cleared of all significant vegetation that might come in contact with the power lines...

Read the Full Story: Could U.S. Get 20% of Electricity from Solar Under Power Lines? | john-farrell-ilsr

Solar power could get boost from new light absorption design

Source: By Sarah Ostman, Northwestern University (Nanowerk News) Solar power may be on the rise, but solar cells are only as efficient as the amount of sunlight they collect. Under the direction of a new McCormick professor, researchers have developed a new material that absorbs a wide range of wavelengths and could lead to more efficient and less expensive solar technology. A paper describing the findings, "Broadband polarization-independent resonant light absorption using ultrathin plasmonic super absorbers", was published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications. "The solar spectrum is not like a laser – it's very broadband, starting with UV and going up to near-infrared," said Koray Aydin, assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science and the paper's lead author. "To capture this light most efficiently, a solar cell needs to have a broadband response. This design allows us to achieve that." The researchers used two unconventional materials – metal and silicon oxide...

Read the Full Story: Solar power could get boost from new light absorption design

Metal grating developed by Koray Aydin's research team.

New York City's Solar Windfall Illuminates America's Clean Energy Future | john-farrell-ilsr

A recently released solar map of New York City found enough room on building rooftops for solar panels to power half the city during hours of peak electricity use. Taking advantage of this solar windfall could allow New Yorkers to save millions on electricity costs and create tens of thousands of jobs.
New York City is not alone in its solar power potential.
Almost 60 million Americans live in areas where

Read the full story: New York City's Solar Windfall Illuminates America's Clean Energy Future | john-farrell-ilsr

SoloPower to Expand U.S. Manufacturing Capacity to 400 MW | Renewable Energy News Article

By Renewable Energy World Editors

San Jose, Calif., USA -- On the back end of a week in which U.S. solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing took a big hit, a California company announced plans Friday to significantly increase its thin-film capacity while expanding into Oregon.

San Jose-based SoloPower, which makes flexible thin film solar cells and modules, has received a $197 million Department of Energy loan guarantee that the company says will allow it to produce about 400 megawatts (MW) of modules each year. According to the company’s website, SoloPower moved into its current 20-MW plant in 2008.

SoloPower will expand its existing operation in San Jose, Calif. and build two new facilities in Portland, Ore. The company says the expansion will create 450 permanent positions and 270 construction jobs.

Read the full story: SoloPower to Expand U.S. Manufacturing Capacity to 400 MW | Renewable Energy News Article

Energy Storage for Solar Power - Technology Review

Stored sunlight: A rendering shows BrightSource’s new thermal storage design. The two large tanks will store molten salt, which can be used to generate steam to drive a turbine.
Credit: BrightSource

Energy Storage for Solar Power
by Kevin Bullis

Startup BrightSource announces a new system that could allow future solar plants to run at night.

BrightSource Energy has become the latest solar thermal power company to develop a system for generating power when the sun isn't shining. The company says the technology can lower the cost of solar power and make it more reliable, helping it compete with conventional sources of electricity.

The company, based in Oakland, California, is building one of the world's largest solar thermal power plants. The 392-megawatt solar plant in Ivanpah, California, however, will not include the storage technology. Instead, BrightSource is working with utilities to determine which future projects could best benefit from storage.

Read the full story: Energy Storage for Solar Power - Technology Review

WARP Wind Amplified Rotor Platforms

This technology and others like it along with the use of recent PV thin film, solar paint material options and onsite storage innovations is where we should be headed. They could prove to be cost effective solutions that can make significant strides to reduce our reliance of fossil fuel power generation. Of course slight modifications may be required to provide reliable safety measures for installation and maintenance personnel as well as producing a safe environment for our wildlife population. View additional information regarding proposed uses at: http://www.warpwindsystems.com/ancillary.html Bravo!

Storing solar energy indefinitely now possible thanks to carbon nanotubes | RobAid

By Damir B.

The idea of reversibly storing solar energy in chemical bonds is gaining a lot of attention these days. A group of researchers from MIT have developed a novel application of carbon nanotubes which shows potential as an effective approach to store solar energy for use whenever it’s needed. The method simplifies the process by combining energy harvesting and storage into a single step.

Previously, the chemicals used to achieve this type of conversion and storage either degraded within a few cycles, or included the element ruthenium, which is rare and expensive. Jeffrey Grossman, the Carl Richard Soderberg Associate Professor of Power Engineering at MIT, and postdoc Alexie Kolpak have created a new material which is a combination of carbon nanotubes and a compound called azobenzene.

...read the full story Storing solar energy indefinitely now possible thanks to carbon nanotubes | RobAid

RSi ramping up to Solar Grade Silicon production

Turning on the first 500 MT (Metric Ton) arc furnace in Fall 2011.

RSI Silicon rebrands as Renewable Silicon International (RSi).

I have not been able to update RSI Silicon commences Solar Grade Silicon production since March 2009, until now.

In an interview last week with RSi President and CTO Dr. Steve Amendola and Executive Vice President Greg Mandor, I learned RSi plans to start one of two (2) 500 MT arc furnaces at their Easton, Pennsylvania USA, facility in late September or early October 2011 to produce commercial sized 100 to 400 kg (kilogram) customer samples of solar grade silicon. RSi expects to be producing solar grade silicon full time with the first arc furnace by the end of 2011 or early 2012.

Thus far, RSi has produced small batches of 6-7N (six 99.9999% to seven nines 99.99999% pure) solar grade silicon material using the now patented ChemArc process with small experimental sized furnaces.

RSi has not sold any solar grade silicon material to prospective customers, and although RSi has grown a silicon ingot, no silicon solar cells have ever been made from the material. RSi said not enough material had been produced to supply production sized Directional Solidification System (DSS) furnaces. RSi believes their 6N+ quality material will cast 7N multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) ingots suitable for manufacturing mc-Si solar cells. Dr. Amendola said:

So far results have shown that we can produce a 6N material which when you put it into the multicrystalline direct solidification unit gets better than 7N and will make a very good cell.

RSi claims upward of 30 companies have expressed interest in sampling the material to date with new inquiries arriving weekly. Companies range from global brands to the smallest firms all vying for a limited number of initial samples.

As customers place solar grade silicon orders, RSi plans to ramp the second 500 MT arc furnace around 2Q 2012.

...read the full story: RSi ramping up to Solar Grade Silicon production

Energy Harvesting - Power Everywhere

A Colorful Approach to Solar Energy

Great material to use in hybrid "flexible smart structure" energy systems. Could be applied to the frame that houses the vibration / solar film energy harvesting panels. Piggyback all.

Flexible Hybrid Smart Structure Energy Systems

Finally, someone who's on to it!, (partially anyway) Very interesting research. 

Readers: if you happen to know of additional organizations or individuals with research in developing flexible hybrid smart structure systems that can generate energy from movement (also known as: vibration energy harvesting), as well as solar, Genergy (gravity energy) and / or hydro please post a link here. Especially if there are plans to utilize the height and overall structure of our current larger power grid towers that are located in high exposure areas like along the I-5 corridor. Not to mention, what about utilizing other newer sound infrastructure already in place like guard rails, bridges, etc... in this way? Excess energy can be stored underground in many cases with newly discovered technologies for later use during peak hours. I realize power companies own a portion if not all of the current power grid tower structures. Why not utilize them in this way as a viable addition to home alternative energy systems? It would give power companies an additional way to keep a piece of the pie for themselves without having to rely so heavily on fossil fuels. Lets get off the oil already!

Green energy invention showcases at House of Commons

Thursday 26 May 2011

The Rt Hon David Willetts MP, Minister of State for Universities and Science opened the event with other speakers including Mr David Sweeney, HEFCE Director for Research, Innovation and Skills, and Mr Liam Burns, President Elect, NUS.

Among those to visit the University's presentation were Lord Haskel, (pictured centre) and Bolton MPs Julie Hilling (left) and Yasmin Hussain (right). With them is PhD student Derman Vatansever and Director of Research, Professor Elias Siores.

Research That Matters looks at how modern universities contribute to national research, innovation and economic growth. The think tank says modern universities have a distinctive and valuable approach to research, working closely with business, public and third sector organisations. It is urging Government to support new universities' research, maintaining public investment.

Derman and Professor Siores, who are based in the University's Institute for Materials Research and Innovation (IMRI), were showcasing a new green-energy material.

The IMRI scientists have created a unique product – a flexible piezoelectric fibre that can be woven to create natural energy-harnessing fabrics. Energy is created as the material is moved. The researchers have added to it, patenting a method for creating a photovoltaic- piezoelectric fibre which would also harness the power of the sun, meaning the material could be a solar energy source as well.

Read the full story

Building A Better Electric Grid

The nation's electrical grid is getting old, not just in its infrastructure, but in the technology used to run it. In this segment, Ira Flatow and guests discuss the grid, its problems, and how new technology can be used to make the grid "smarter." Will consumers sign on?

Erich Gunther, chairman, Chief Technology Officer, EnerNex, senior member, IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), member of the IEEE's Smart Grid Task Force, Knoxville, Tenn.

Karen Herter, Herter Energy Research Solutions, El Dorado Hills, Calif.

Alex Laskey, president and founder, OPower, Arlington, Va.
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June 10, 2011

Future perfect: Building integrated photovoltaic systems

Future perfect: Building integrated photovoltaic systems: "Balakrishnan Ramachandran:

Building integrated photovoltaic systemsIt is expected that by 2015, global BIPV market will reach 1.6 GW, especially in the European markets.

What’s happening right now?

Photovoltaics presently conjure up the image in our minds of flat panel solar cells, fitted typically on flat roof tops, slanted at an angle towards the sun to harvest solar power. Almost all of these flat panel solar cells were added to pre-existing buildings and consequently had limitations to their installation and use. Since the 1990s, the architects and builders have spawned the new practice of integrating solar photovoltaics into a building at the conceptual stage, for the so-termed Building Integrated Photovoltaics ( BIPV). With BIPV, the building does not suffer from the limitations of an add-on afterthought and also results in reduced cost. And with the trend towards “green buildings”, the BIPV market is projected to reach $ 8.2 billion by 2015. These photovoltaics will also produce 1.6GW of clean power. Supporting this growth the industry is a whole slew of new products that will give architects and building designers more options to design greener buildings without any compromise on form, aesthetics or function of the buildings.






Trends

1. Uni-Solar laminates by United Solar Ovonic LLC:

UNI-SOLAR laminates by United Solar Ovonic LLCUnisolar thin film amorphous PV Solar Laminates are flexible solar modules that are bonded directly to the roof.

The pictures above shows Uni-Solar flexible solar modules being directly bonded to the roof of a General Motors factory building in comparison with the conventional roof top panels. The advantage immediately obvious is that the photovoltaic area available for harvesting the solar energy is much larger with the laminate than with the crystalline silicon cells behind glass panels. The flexible modules do not need the additional steel support brackets that add to cost and also to the loading of the roof. The flexible modules weigh only 1lb per sq.foot. Uni-Solar also claims that their modules are designed to absorb solar energy not just from the visible spectrum of sunlight but also from its infra-red and ultra-violet spectra increasing the energy harvested by some 20% per sq. foot of module.

2. Power FLEX BIPV panels:

PowerFLEX BIPVPowerFLEX BIPV by Global Solar.

Global Solar of Tucson, Arizona is another company that offers flexible solar modules that can be directly bonded to the roof of a building. Global claims that its thin film CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide) modules are the highest in energy efficiency at some 13.2% where they approach the efficiency achieved with crystalline silicon solar cells. They offer these flexible modules in strips upto 19 feet length and 1.5 feet width that permit these modules to be installed on any shape or contour of surface. They claim that the installed cost of these modules is the same as crystalline rigid cells.

3. Dow’s Solar shingles:

BIPV system Dow Solar SolutionsBIPV system Dow Solar Solutions cost about 40% less than other solar panels.

Dow Solar Solutions, a division of the giant Dow Chemicals has launched a new range of products that can be installed like conventional roof shingles, maintaining the appearance and heritage features of buildings. These can be installed like regular roofing tiles and are said to cost some 40% less than competing products. They are also said to be 10% more efficient than crystalline solar panels while costing 15% less for equivalent power capacity.

4. Konarka Technologies “Power Plastic” flexible transparent solar panels:

konarka power plastic organic photovoltaic materPower Plastic is lightweight, thin, flexible, portable, and beautiful.

In any tall office or commercial building, the vertical faces are always much larger than the rooftop and if the vertical faces can be used to harvest solar energy, the benefits would be much larger than using only the rooftops. Konarka Technologies, a Lowell, Massachussets company, founded by Dr Alan Heeger, the Nobel Prize winner for Chemistry in 2000 for his work on conductive polymers, has introduced its family of Organic Photovoltaic panels that is semi-transparent and comes in various colours. This enables the solar film to be applied to vertical facades of buildings, dramatically increasing the surface area for harvesting solar energy. Konarka also claims that its solar film generates electricity for longer hours each day, from near sunrise to sunset, by being able to absorb energy from the whole sunlight spectrum. They also claim that their film can absorb indirect or reflected light and can even respond to interior lighting of the building on which it is installed.

Konarka claims an efficiency of 8.3% in lab test conditions which is a major advance over its own previous organic photovoltaic film which had efficiencies in the 2-3% range. Konarka has also tied up with a windows manufacturing company to manufacture windows and curtain walls with the Power Plastic film bonded with the glass. It has also converted seven large windows at its own headquarters building to demonstrate this application.

The Impact

These new technologies, as they grow and develop, will speed the process of adoption of Building Integrated Photovoltaics into the design of new buildings and into the refurbishment of older buildings that would be an important step towards a greener building industry.

The problems

At this early stage of development of these technologies, the questions of cost are still left deliberately vague. The crystalline silicon modules presently used the cost around $11,000 per kW which is adopted only with government subsidies both for capital cost and for assured buying of the power generated at rates better than utility power. While such subsidies are acceptable at the early stages of adoption of new technologies, the industry needs to rapidly get the costs down to the level of the present fossil fuel based power generation .

The second major concern is that of life of these new photovoltaics. With thin flexible films being the common thread between these different technologies, the question in many people’s minds is whether these will have the same lifetime, which is at least 25 years, for other materials used in the buildings industry. If the life is likely to be less, whether these systems can be replaced or re-furbished without shutting down the building for long period of time.

In summary

The Building Integrated Photovoltaic industry appears to be coming of age with a new range of technology options and products that permit the photovoltaics to be built into the design of the building. With improvements to cost and life, hopefully, photovoltaics would come to be as commonplace as the use of glass or steel in the building industry.

The Wind Generation - SCAD MFA Industrial Design Small Wind

Another piece of the pie... Creative innovation solutions for smart grid / current grid tower and other infrastructure utilization for onsite hybrid solar / wind panel alternative energy generation and delivery system integration?

Solar Too Expensive? Use Jellyfish

Solar Too Expensive? Use Jellyfish: "
Over 70 percent of the earth is covered by oceans. Humans, while avid land explorers throughout history, still have a rudimentary understanding of the ecosystem beneath the sea. Most people think “SpongeBob Squarepants” isn’t so far off from the truth, although how anyone could believe a pineapple made it to the bottom of the ocean without being scavenged is beyond me. But as we continue to explore the sea, we also continue to unlock some of its secrets. Scientists have done just that with mysterious bioluminescent jellyfish, which may end up powering your home in the near future.
The bioluminescent protein that allows the cnidarians to glow can actually be harnessed to produce an electrical current. Swedish researchers (Scandinavians are just the best) have devised a way to collect that protein and turn them into “organic solar cells.” By dripping the green fluorescent protein onto a silicon dioxide substrate between two electrodes, the Swedes saw that the protein works itself into tiny strands. Those strands, when exposed to ultraviolet light (like the sun produces), absorb photons and emit electrons, generating electricity. They work just like solar cells, but don’t require the expensive materials.
Even Gene Roddenberry couldn’t have thought that one up.
While using animals as an energy source is contentious, the current overpopulation of jellyfish in the oceans can lend itself to a mutual agreement between science and conservation. By collecting and using jellyfish to create carbon-neutral energy, balance may also be restored to the oceans, allowing more fragile species of life to exist. Like the glorious yellow sea sponge.
-- Erik Ian Larsen
Image: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
"