# Solar Energy - News and Development



## nomarandlee (Sep 24, 2005)

Looked for it and I'm amazed I couldn't find a thread devoted to solar. If someone else finds it perhaps merge it? Thanks.



> *http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-ap-co-colo-renewableene,0,5899753.story*
> 
> *Obama announces $400M boost for Colo. solar firm*
> 
> ...


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## nomarandlee (Sep 24, 2005)

> *http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-us-solar-coal-plant,0,5040852.story?obref=obinsite*
> 
> *Xcel Energy tests hybrid solar-coal project at power plant in western Colorado*
> 
> ...


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## nomarandlee (Sep 24, 2005)

> *http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-solar-exelon-20100630,0,7031780.story?obref=obnetwork*
> 
> *Solar power may get chance to shine in Illinois*
> Advocates see West Pullman power plant as sign of hope
> ...



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## Dr.Scope (Jul 5, 2010)

Solar panels are old tech and in terms of $ to power it's pretty cheap but only good during the sumer and in the right country. In most of Europe or northern US/Canada solar is useless...
They should use it more in countries with plenty of sun.


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## mopc (Jan 31, 2005)

^^ that is why nuclear and solar must go hand in hand


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## greg122 (Jul 14, 2010)

*Good*

Thanks for the info,that is really help.


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## nomarandlee (Sep 24, 2005)

> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/10/solar-power-breakthrough_n_833483.html
> 
> *Solar Power Breakthrough Claimed By Stanford Researchers *
> 
> ...


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## nomarandlee (Sep 24, 2005)

> http://www.sify.com/news/ultrafast-...efficient-news-international-ldjpEijgcje.html
> 
> *Ultrafast laser to make solar cells more affordable, efficient *
> 2011-03-09
> ...


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> http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20110309/NEWS01/103090342/Energy-research-hub-proposed-near-Carr
> 
> *Energy research hub proposed near Carr*
> 12:58 AM, Mar. 9, 2011
> ...





> http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/09/idUS100792642520110309
> 
> *Saudi Arabia's Solar Ambitions Still Far Off, Even With New Polysilicon Plant*
> By Maria Gallucci at SolveClimate
> ...





> http://www.earthtechling.com/2011/03/solar-power-research-an-energy-crisis-fix/
> 
> *Solar Power Research An Energy Crisis Fix?*by Pete Danko, March 7th, 2011
> 
> ...


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## nomarandlee (Sep 24, 2005)

> http://www.earthtechling.com/2011/02/full-spectrum-solar-made-easier-to-make/*
> Full-Spectrum Solar Made Easier To Make*
> by Pete Danko, February 2nd, 2011
> 
> ...





> http://www.earthtechling.com/2010/12/hypersolar-on-upping-solar-cell-output/
> HyperSolar On Upping Solar Cell Output
> by Susan DeFreitas, December 27th, 2010
> 
> ...


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## mopc (Jan 31, 2005)

What is the average efficiency of commercial solar facilities (I mean what is the actual average annual output of a solar facility in relation to its installed capacity?)


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## DiscoZimpy (Feb 17, 2011)

The researchers studied this technique on a fairly new type of solar cell that uses tiny particles of semiconductors called quantum dots.


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## nomarandlee (Sep 24, 2005)

> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...nment-to-slash-subsidies-for-solar-power.html
> 
> *Government to slash subsidies for solar power*
> 
> ...


. .


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## thun (Aug 8, 2007)

Old news actually:The Italian ministry for economic development killed basically all investments into photovoltaics (we're talking about the market which was projected to be the second largest in the world in 2011) two weeks ago by implementing a law that says that feed-in tariffs will be reformed at the 1st of June without specifying how the new tariff system will look like at all. :lol:
So, untill this will be published (sometime in april), basically all projects were cancelled and the whole industry is on halt.


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## nomarandlee (Sep 24, 2005)

> http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/innovation/09/27/jellyfish.solar.power/index.html?hpt=Sbin
> 
> *'Jellyfish' smoothies offer solar solutions *
> 
> ...


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## nomarandlee (Sep 24, 2005)

> http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-...dy-rival-coal-spurring-installation-boom.html
> 
> 
> *Solar Power May Already Rival Coal, Prompting Installation Surge*
> ...


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*ANALYSIS-Rooftops to revive Spain's flagging solar industry*

MADRID, March 29 (Reuters) - Solar panels on the rooftops of Spain are likely to pay for themselves within five years without needing subsidies and revive an industry in the doldrums after the country became the world's second-largest producer.

Analysts predict the cost of small rooftop panels will become competitive with retail power prices long before the cost of larger, ground-based plants, which must compete with lower wholesale prices for electricity produced from gas or coal.

"We believe that commercial and residential rooftop solar power generation has great potential in Spain, and across Europe," said Rupesh Medlani, an analyst with Barclays Capital.

"Panel price falls in recent years combined with higher retail energy costs has made the economics far more attractive."

Solar power currently provides 2 percent of Spain's electricity, but producers need subsidies to operate plants.

Wholesale power prices in Spain are around 5 eurocents a kilowatt-hour. Consumers typically pay 17 eurocents, and the costs of roof-mounted panels are expected to fall below that level by 2016.

Industry group Asif estimates that sunlight falling on just 1.1 percent of Spain's surface area could provide all of the country's energy needs -- not just electricity -- which is less than half the 2.3 percent already taken up by urban areas.

"You wouldn't even have to cover all the roofs in Spain with solar panels," said Asif spokesman Tomas Diaz.

"There is the issue of how you would do it, how you manage demand for electricity, but there is no problem at all over area or potential," he added.

NET METERING

Photovoltaic panels, which directly convert sunlight into electricity, produce power directly for the consumer and avoid losses along transmission lines, which eat up around 8 percent of all power generated by utilities.

Rooftops also could cut out the need for solar plants to use up valuable hectares of farmland.

Spain has so far installed few rooftop panels, however. A draft decree awaiting approval by Spain's energy regulator plans to make it easier for consumers to finance solar panels by allowing them to feed any power they do not use into the grid.

Utilities would then discount the surplus from the final bill, a practice known as "net metering", which is already on the statute books in Germany and 43 U.S. states.

A recent report by accountants KPMG estimated rooftop units in Spain could cut electricity consumption by 60-80 percent for residential buildings and 40-60 percent for commercial or industrial premises by 2015.

Germany is the world's biggest solar power producer, with more than four times the generating capacity of second-placed Spain, although it receives less than one-third as much sunlight. Most of its installations are on rooftops.

"Spain in many regions has a lot more sun-hours, so therefore if the economics work in countries like Germany and the UK, then there's no reason to think the economics can't work in a country like Spain," said Peter Sweatman, chief executive of consultants Climate Strategy.

Asif estimates that rooftop panels are already cost-effective in the southerly Canary Islands, where grid connections are relatively scarce and expensive.

FINANCING EASIER

The International Energy Agency, an adviser to industrialised nations on energy policy, estimates solar power could provide up to a quarter of the world's electricity by 2050 but will need government support before the technology becomes cost effective.

Generous feed-in tariffs made Spain the world's biggest solar market in 2008 but cost the government billions of euros. It then capped the number of plants entitled to support and last year cut feed-in tariffs for existing plants by 45 percent.

Diaz said financing a residential PV panel for 10,000-25,000 euros ($14,050-35,130) -- comparable to other building work -- is far simpler for an installer than a utility-scale project.

"He won't ask for project finance. He will ask for credit but won't run into financial restrictions faced by other PV projects," he said.

Sweatman said commercial and industrial users are better placed to finance rooftop installations, and KPMG predict they will make up the bulk of Spain's PV capacity by 2020, which could be four to five times current levels.

On Madrid's main artery, the Paseo de la Castellana, rooftops are already sprouting solar panels where signs or billboards used to be.

Barcelona's Montjuic municipal cemetery has installed solar panels to help power its crematoria and reduce its dependence on the grid by 34 percent. The 300,000 euro project is designed to generate 136,000 kWh a year over a working life of 25 years, which would be enough to power 46 homes.

Spain's Industry Ministry announced earlier this month it, too, was to install solar panels as part of a plan to cut energy consumption at its headquarters by 20 percent.

"When on a non-subsidised basis solar photovoltaic power becomes cheaper than other alternatives, the boom in solar will be exponential," Sweatman said.


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## panchiito (Apr 15, 2009)

***********


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## nomarandlee (Sep 24, 2005)

> http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110421/ap_on_re_us/us_green_nyc
> 
> *NY to build solar power plants on capped landfills*
> 
> ...


,.....


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## nomarandlee (Sep 24, 2005)

> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/14/ken-salazar-interior-secr_0_n_898788.html?ir=Green
> 
> *Ken Salazar, Interior Secretary, Says Feds Will Refine Plan On Solar *
> 
> ...


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## nomarandlee (Sep 24, 2005)

> http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/08/14/solar.light.bulbs/index.html?hpt=hp_bn7
> 
> *Bringing solar light bulbs to the world*
> 
> ...



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