Tag Archives: panels
Next Target for Cheap Solar Panels: Japan
Japan has set a very lucrative solar Feed in Tariff which can give an IRR of over 30% to solar power plant developers. This has led to great excitement amongst top solar panel manufacturers who are facing massive competition in other markets. The prices of solar panels has crashed by more than 50% in the [...]
Calculating Solar Panel Output
The amount of electricity a solar panel produces depends on three main things: the amount of sunlight hitting the panel, the size of the panel, and the efficiency of the solar cells inside. We’ll break down what you can expect from a typical solar panel, and how that power output compares to the power you [...]
India Solar Companies: Quality Below Par?
Indian states continue to award solar power projects to big developers like Welspun Energy, Moser Baer and others despite shoddy performance by big power developers. Tata Power which is India’s biggest power utility in the private sector recently wrote a letter to numerous top officials recommending that the company be blacklisted from solar project bidding. [...]
In Focus: Solar Maintenance Companies
Solar Panels are exposed to the environment – sun, wind, dust, rain etc. Solar panels are very similar to windows, lying flat or at a slight angle which means they get dirty very fast. Pollen, bird droppings, dirt, and dust can build up on solar panels.“Solar Clouding” commonly referred by the panel manufacturers, which means [...]
Heating Up PV for More Power
Well, at least for amorphous silicon photovoltaics (PVs). While solar photovoltaics swelter under the summer heat and lose efficiency as a result, research at Michigan Technological University (MTU) shows that heating amorphous silicon PV can actually increase its efficiency in a hybrid solar thermal PV application. “The main problem is [amorphous silicon] degrades when light [...]
Are Solar Panels Commodities?
Some people in the PV industry say that solar modules are commodities. If they’re right, then solar modules are the only commodity in the world that comes with a 25-year warranty. We’re not talking about toasters or televisions, where consumers don’t really care if the products don’t last longer than a decade. Billions of dollars [...]
How Clouds Affect Solar
While solar panels generate the most electricity on clear days with abundant sunshine (not surprisingly), they continue to work when the weather turns cloudy. On a cloudy day, typical solar panels can produce 10-25% of their rated capacity. The exact amount will vary depending on the density of the clouds, and may also vary by [...]
What is the Life Expectancy of a Solar Module?
When customers invest in a solar system, they often wonder how long their modules will continue to provide energy and how much they will yield over time. Over the years, all solar panels will degrade somewhat, but crystalline silicon panels have a much slower rate of degradation than thin film modules. This means crystalline modules [...]
Solar Impulse Airplane: SunPower Inside
Remember the remarkable solar plane that surpassed a 24-hour test flight? If you do, great! If you don’t, then sit tight because I promise to fill you in. In a previous post back in April, I had written about a solar aircraft prototype, whose team of creators agreed to an ambitious goal after the success [...]