Tag Archives: pv
PV from Trees
Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology and Purdue University have developed organic photovoltaic cells that are based on natural substrates from plant materials like trees. The new devices are not only made of natural substances, they’re also water soluble, so at the end of their life cycle, the devices can be recycled in water. Organic [...]
Choosing the Right Solar Energy Installer in Costa Rica
The implementation of ICE’s Net Metering, Distributed Generation solar energy program has created a rapid increase for the demand of quality installed, solar energy systems amongst home and business owners in Costa Rica. Spurred by the country’s already high, rising cost of electricity, ICE’s progressive solar energy program encourages energy consumers to produce their own [...]
Will Area 51 Go Solar?
Next time someone sees something shiny gleaming the desert sunlight near Roswell, N.M., it might not be an alien spaceship or experimental vehicle on Area 51. It’s more likely it will be one of the solar arrays being built in the region by Green States Energy. The company has at least two projects in the [...]
Solar Powered Zoos Gain in Popularity
As more organizations realize the benefits of solar energy, they’re finding creative ways to incorporate solar systems into their infrastructure—even among lions, elephants and giraffes. Throughout the U.S. and even the world, solar powered zoos are gaining popularity. Considering the amount of energy it takes to maintain appropriate habitat temperatures, refrigerate the animals’ food and [...]
The Biggest Solar PV Projects in Latin America
As of April 1, 2013, 9.8 gigawatts of large-scale PV projects had been announced in Latin America and the Caribbean. Currently, the generating capacity of projects in operation is just 114 megawatts. Of the 9.8 gigawatts’ worth of announced projects, 731 megawatts have signed off-take agreements of some sort (power purchase agreements, feed-in tariff contracts, [...]
Industry Heavyweights Suntech and Bosch Go Down
Another solar manufacturer bites the dust. This time, it’s one of the world’s leading solar manufacturers, Suntech. Suntech the first solar firm to go public back in 2005. The Chinese solar manufacturer was compelled to file for bankruptcy after it was unable to make a payment for $541 million. Just days after the news of [...]
Shared Solar Lands in California
Solar is already a huge California success story. The Golden State is leading the nation in new installations, helping to drive costs down and reaping economic and environmental benefits as more and more of our power comes from the sun. Now momentum is building in Sacramento for a new approach that will let the state [...]
Top 7 Solar Consuming Countries
The concept of solar power has been around for some time, but it’s never been considered a practical means for satisfying the world’s energy needs. But as better methods for capturing and converting the sun’s rays into usable energy are developed, solar power is becoming widely adopted across many countries. Here’s a look at a [...]
Alta Devices Hits 30.8% PV Cell Efficiency
Alta Devices reached 30.8 percent solar cell conversion efficiency earlier this month. The company developed a dual-junction thin-film PV device that builds on its previous single junction cell. The company said its a new world record for the dual junction cells. The results were verified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). And while this [...]