A burst of new business at the end of 2009 put Germany close to adding a record of solar power to the grid, according to the head of Germany’s BSW solar industry association, Carsten Koernig. He estimates that in this year alone; it will be very close to 3 Gigawatts.

While he is not sure what the final end-of-year number will be, he is sure of one fact. It can’t be over 3 gigawatts, simply because there is no more capacity than that in the pipeline.

German supplies have completely sold out. Demand for parts, especially, and equipment such as inverters has outstripped supply. Germany’s very consumer-oriented feed-in tariff legislation makes it profitable for any homeowner to install panels on their roofs to supply the grid – - and so they do just that.

More than 40,000 people work in the photovoltaic industry. The 2008 record solar installed was 1.6 GW, bringing Germany’s total to 5.3 GW; one third of the world’s 15 GW of solar power. This year’s 3 gigawatts could propel it to half the world’s solar.

Part of the increase in end-of year sales was was due to pent-up demand as the financial crisis starts to ease in Germany; but part of it was last-minute homeowners and solar investors getting into the action before 2010, when the Feed-in Tariff rates will step down 10%.

Germany’s Renewable Energy Sources Act has required power companies to buy all the energy produced by anyone making renewable power, at a fixed above-market price for 20 years.

This payment started out in 2003 as 3 times what the electricity consumer would normally pay for electricity, then went down to 2 times the retail rate. Even after it goes down 10% next year this still amounts to well over what the electricity customer pays.

A surcharge of $1.67 on the monthly bill does not begin to cover that extra cost to the utility; but the nation shares in the Common Good of lowering carbon emissions.

Asia is investing hundreds of billions of dollars more than the US in clean technology, according to a new report by two research institutions. In the future, the US may be importing trillions of dollars of needed clean technology (and losing countless jobs to Asia) as a result.

In total, the report showed that China, Japan, and South Korea will invest about $509 billion in clean tech over the next 5 years, whereas the US (with our greenest President in decades, maybe ever) is only expected to invest $172 billion (about 3 times less) — this is assuming the climate and energy legislation in Congress passes.

If the US were to invest the same percentage of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as South Korea, it would invest almost $140 billion per year ($700 billion over this five year period)! Compared to China, the anticipated per-GDP investment ratio is 1:4 (US to China).

In 2008, Japan almost matched US R&D spending on energy and achieved almost the same number of international clean energy patents despite having dramatically lower GDP.

The financial investment is not the only thing giving these countries a major advantage in this field, though.

The report’s first key finding is:

“Asia’s rising ‘clean technology tigers’ – China, Japan, and South Korea – have already passed the United States in the production of virtually all clean energy technologies, and over the next five years, the governments of these nations will out-invest the United States three-to-one in these sectors. This public investment gap will allow these Asian nations to attract a significant share of private sector investments in clean energy technology, estimated to total in the trillions of dollars over the next decade. While some U.S. firms will benefit from the establishment of joint ventures overseas, the jobs, tax revenues, and other benefits of clean tech growth will overwhelmingly accrue to Asia’s clean tech tigers.”

US Climate Bill Weak Compared to Asian Legislation

The Asian leaders are rushing past the US while Congress sits debating and further weakening a generally handicapped climate and energy bill.

Our climate bill (which is still struggling to get enough support to get passed) will probably do more for clean energy than anything in the history of the country, but it is relatively minor compared to these countries’ comparable legislation. It is not anticipated to spur a significant amount of investment, according to the report.

The report finds significant shortcomings in the US’ market-based strategies. As one part of that: “A cap-and-trade bill would slow American companies’ uptake of clean tech until 2020, (the report) suggests, because firms would be able to buy offsets for emissions.”

The report by the Breakthrough Institute and the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation concludes that “the direct and coordinated nature of these Asian nations’ public investments will confer significant advantages” over the US. Their second key finding in the report is: “Large, direct and sustained public investments will solidify the competitive advantage of China, Japan, and South Korea.

In further detail:

“In contrast to more direct investments by Asia’s clean tech tigers, current U.S. policies rely overwhelmingly on modest market incentives that are viewed by the private sector as more indirect, create more risks for private market investors, and do less to overcome the many barriers to clean energy adoption. The American Clean Energy and Security Act, passed by the U.S. House of Representative in June 2009, includes too few proactive policy initiatives and allocates relatively little funding to support research and development, commercialization and production of clean energy technologies within the United States.”

The report found that Asian policies were for a longer-term and more likely to avoid pitfalls with individual technologies (for various reason) as well — they were created to do so.

What is the Result? Heavy Clean Tech Imports & Economic Loss or Failure

If this investment gap persists, and the related policy advantages for Asia persist, the report predicts that “the United States will import the overwhelming majority of clean energy technologies it deploys…. This could jeopardize America’s economic recovery and its long-term competitiveness while making it even more difficult to reduce the U.S. trade deficit.”

The US will lose jobs, tons of money and much of its economic presence globally. Hopefully, policy makers will wake up to the urgent need for greater investment and stronger, more coordinated policy around clean technology (regarding energy, transportation, and other sectors). The economic future of the US depends on it.

]*?)href\s*=\s*['"](.*?)['"]([^>]*)>(.*?) 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Asia is investing hundreds of billions of dollars more than the US in clean technology, according to a new report by two research institutions. In the future, the US may be importing trillions of dollars of needed clean technology (and losing countless jobs to Asia) as a result.

In total, the report showed that China, Japan, and South Korea will invest about $509 billion in clean tech over the next 5 years, whereas the US (with our greenest President in decades, maybe ever) is only expected to invest $172 billion (about 3 times less) — this is assuming the climate and energy legislation in Congress passes.

If the US were to invest the same percentage of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as South Korea, it would invest almost $140 billion per year ($700 billion over this five year period)! Compared to China, the anticipated per-GDP investment ratio is 1:4 (US to China).

In 2008, Japan almost matched US R&D spending on energy and achieved almost the same number of international clean energy patents despite having dramatically lower GDP.

The financial investment is not the only thing giving these countries a major advantage in this field, though.

The report’s first key finding is:

“Asia’s rising ‘clean technology tigers’ – China, Japan, and South Korea – have already passed the United States in the production of virtually all clean energy technologies, and over the next five years, the governments of these nations will out-invest the United States three-to-one in these sectors. This public investment gap will allow these Asian nations to attract a significant share of private sector investments in clean energy technology, estimated to total in the trillions of dollars over the next decade. While some U.S. firms will benefit from the establishment of joint ventures overseas, the jobs, tax revenues, and other benefits of clean tech growth will overwhelmingly accrue to Asia’s clean tech tigers.”

US Climate Bill Weak Compared to Asian Legislation

The Asian leaders are rushing past the US while Congress sits debating and further weakening a generally handicapped climate and energy bill.

Our climate bill (which is still struggling to get enough support to get passed) will probably do more for clean energy than anything in the history of the country, but it is relatively minor compared to these countries’ comparable legislation. It is not anticipated to spur a significant amount of investment, according to the report.

The report finds significant shortcomings in the US’ market-based strategies. As one part of that: “A cap-and-trade bill would slow American companies’ uptake of clean tech until 2020, (the report) suggests, because firms would be able to buy offsets for emissions.”

The report by the Breakthrough Institute and the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation concludes that “the direct and coordinated nature of these Asian nations’ public investments will confer significant advantages” over the US. Their second key finding in the report is: “Large, direct and sustained public investments will solidify the competitive advantage of China, Japan, and South Korea.

In further detail:

“In contrast to more direct investments by Asia’s clean tech tigers, current U.S. policies rely overwhelmingly on modest market incentives that are viewed by the private sector as more indirect, create more risks for private market investors, and do less to overcome the many barriers to clean energy adoption. The American Clean Energy and Security Act, passed by the U.S. House of Representative in June 2009, includes too few proactive policy initiatives and allocates relatively little funding to support research and development, commercialization and production of clean energy technologies within the United States.”

The report found that Asian policies were for a longer-term and more likely to avoid pitfalls with individual technologies (for various reason) as well — they were created to do so.

What is the Result? Heavy Clean Tech Imports & Economic Loss or Failure

If this investment gap persists, and the related policy advantages for Asia persist, the report predicts that “the United States will import the overwhelming majority of clean energy technologies it deploys…. This could jeopardize America’s economic recovery and its long-term competitiveness while making it even more difficult to reduce the U.S. trade deficit.”

The US will lose jobs, tons of money and much of its economic presence globally. Hopefully, policy makers will wake up to the urgent need for greater investment and stronger, more coordinated policy around clean technology (regarding energy, transportation, and other sectors). The economic future of the US depends on it.

Start uga_filter:

New scientific discoveries are moving society toward the era of “personalized solar energy,” in which the focus of electricity production shifts from huge central generating stations to individuals in their own homes and communities.

That’s the topic of a report by an international expert on solar energy scheduled for the November 2 issue of ACS’ Inorganic Chemistry, a bi-weekly journal. It describes a long-awaited, inexpensive method for solar energy storage that could help power homes and plug-in cars in the future while helping keep the environment clean.

Daniel Nocera explains that the global energy need will double by mid-century and triple by 2100 due to rising standards of living world population growth. Personalized solar energy — the capture and storage of solar energy at the individual or home level — could meet that demand in a sustainable way, especially in poorer areas of the world.

The report describes development of a practical, inexpensive storage system for achieving personalized solar energy. At its heart is an innovative catalyst that splits water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen that become fuel for producing electricity in a fuel cell. The new oxygen-evolving catalyst works like photosynthesis, the method plants use to make energy, producing clean energy from sunlight and water.

“Because energy use scales with wealth, point-of-use solar energy will put individuals, in the smallest village in the nonlegacy world and in the largest city of the legacy world, on a more level playing field,” the report states.

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New scientific discoveries are moving society toward the era of “personalized solar energy,” in which the focus of electricity production shifts from huge central generating stations to individuals in their own homes and communities.

That’s the topic of a report by an international expert on solar energy scheduled for the November 2 issue of ACS’ Inorganic Chemistry, a bi-weekly journal. It describes a long-awaited, inexpensive method for solar energy storage that could help power homes and plug-in cars in the future while helping keep the environment clean.

Daniel Nocera explains that the global energy need will double by mid-century and triple by 2100 due to rising standards of living world population growth. Personalized solar energy — the capture and storage of solar energy at the individual or home level — could meet that demand in a sustainable way, especially in poorer areas of the world.

The report describes development of a practical, inexpensive storage system for achieving personalized solar energy. At its heart is an innovative catalyst that splits water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen that become fuel for producing electricity in a fuel cell. The new oxygen-evolving catalyst works like photosynthesis, the method plants use to make energy, producing clean energy from sunlight and water.

“Because energy use scales with wealth, point-of-use solar energy will put individuals, in the smallest village in the nonlegacy world and in the largest city of the legacy world, on a more level playing field,” the report states.

Start uga_filter:

The Japanese space agency has unveiled an incredible new plan to start collecting solar power in space, and zap it down to Earth via microwaves or laser beams.

Under the plan, known as the Space Solar Power System (SSPS), floating photovoltaic dishes several square miles across would hover in geostationary orbit outside the Earth’s atmosphere as soon as 2030.

According to a researcher at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, one of the project participants, “Since solar power is a clean and inexhaustible energy source, we believe that this system will be able to help solve the problems of energy shortage and global warming. The sun’s rays abound in space.” (Another picture after the jump).

To achieve this ambitious and highly futuristic aim, the Japanese government has recently chosen a consortium of companies and scientists charged with making the multi-billion-dollar dream of unlimited clean energy a reality in as little as 20 years. The team, called the Institute for Unmanned Space Experiment Free Flyer (USEF), also includes Mitsubishi Electric, NEC, Fujitsu and Sharp.

The plan is that the giant solar cells would harvest solar energy, which is at least five times stronger in space than on Earth, and beam it down to terra firma through clusters of lasers or microwaves.

Tadashige Takiya, a spokesman at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), told reporters that the beams would then be collected by gigantic parabolic antennae, most likely located in restricted areas at sea or on dam reservoirs.

At this stage, the consortium are hoping to create a one gigawatt system, equivalent to a medium-sized nuclear power plant, that would produce electricity at eight yen (nine cents) per kilowatt-hour, six times cheaper than the current cost in the country.

Tatsuhito Fujita, one of the JAXA researchers heading the project said that within several years, “a satellite designed to test the transmission by microwave should be put into low orbit with a Japanese rocket.”

The next step, scheduled for around 2020, is to launch and test a large flexible photovoltaic structure with 10 megawatt power capacity, to be followed by a 250 megawatt prototype.

Officials say that this would help evaluate the project’s financial viability, the final aim being to produce electricity cheap enough to compete with other alternative energy sources.

JAXA maintains that the transmission technology would be safe but concedes it would have to convince the public to accept the controversial plan, admitting that some may harbour images of laser beams shooting down from the sky, roasting birds or slicing up aircraft in mid-air.

According to a 2004 study by JAXA, the words ‘laser’ and ‘microwave’ caused the most concern among the 1,000 people questioned.

Start uga_in_feed Ending uga_in_feed: Start uga_track_user Start uga_get_option: ignore_users uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: ignore_users (1) Start uga_get_option: max_user_level uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: max_user_level (8) Tracking user with level Ending uga_track_user: 1 Calling preg_replace_callback: ]*?)href\s*=\s*['"](.*?)['"]([^>]*)>(.*?) Start uga_preg_callback: Array Get tracker for full url Start uga_track_full_url: news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/japan-eyes-solar-station-in-space-as-new-energy-source-20091108-i3l9.html Start uga_is_url_internal: news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/japan-eyes-solar-station-in-space-as-new-energy-source-20091108-i3l9.html Start uga_get_option: internal_domains uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: internal_domains (www.humacon.org,humacon.org) Checking hostname www.humacon.org Checking hostname humacon.org Ending uga_is_url_internal: Get tracker for external URL Start uga_track_external_url: news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/japan-eyes-solar-station-in-space-as-new-energy-source-20091108-i3l9.html Start uga_get_option: track_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: track_ext_links (1) Tracking external links enabled Start uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links (/outgoing/) Ending uga_track_external_url: news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/japan-eyes-solar-station-in-space-as-new-energy-source-20091108-i3l9.html Ending uga_track_full_url: /outgoing/news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/japan-eyes-solar-station-in-space-as-new-energy-source-20091108-i3l9.html Adding onclick attribute for /outgoing/news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/japan-eyes-solar-station-in-space-as-new-energy-source-20091108-i3l9.html Ending uga_preg_callback: Japanese space agency has unveiled an incredible new plan to start collecting solar power in space Start uga_preg_callback: Array Get tracker for full url Start uga_track_full_url: www.usef.or.jp/english/f3_project/ssps/f3_ssps.html Start uga_is_url_internal: www.usef.or.jp/english/f3_project/ssps/f3_ssps.html Start uga_get_option: internal_domains uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: internal_domains (www.humacon.org,humacon.org) Checking hostname www.humacon.org Checking hostname humacon.org Ending uga_is_url_internal: Get tracker for external URL Start uga_track_external_url: www.usef.or.jp/english/f3_project/ssps/f3_ssps.html Start uga_get_option: track_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: track_ext_links (1) Tracking external links enabled Start uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links (/outgoing/) Ending uga_track_external_url: www.usef.or.jp/english/f3_project/ssps/f3_ssps.html Ending uga_track_full_url: /outgoing/www.usef.or.jp/english/f3_project/ssps/f3_ssps.html Adding onclick attribute for /outgoing/www.usef.or.jp/english/f3_project/ssps/f3_ssps.html Ending uga_preg_callback: Space Solar Power System (SSPS) Start uga_preg_callback: Array Get tracker for full url Start uga_track_full_url: www.usef.or.jp/english/e_index.html Start uga_is_url_internal: www.usef.or.jp/english/e_index.html Start uga_get_option: internal_domains uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: internal_domains (www.humacon.org,humacon.org) Checking hostname www.humacon.org Checking hostname humacon.org Ending uga_is_url_internal: Get tracker for external URL Start uga_track_external_url: www.usef.or.jp/english/e_index.html Start uga_get_option: track_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: track_ext_links (1) Tracking external links enabled Start uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links (/outgoing/) Ending uga_track_external_url: www.usef.or.jp/english/e_index.html Ending uga_track_full_url: /outgoing/www.usef.or.jp/english/e_index.html Adding onclick attribute for /outgoing/www.usef.or.jp/english/e_index.html Ending uga_preg_callback: Institute for Unmanned Space Experiment Free Flyer (USEF) Start uga_preg_callback: Array Get tracker for full url Start uga_track_full_url: www.jaxa.jp/index_e.html Start uga_is_url_internal: www.jaxa.jp/index_e.html Start uga_get_option: internal_domains uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: internal_domains (www.humacon.org,humacon.org) Checking hostname www.humacon.org Checking hostname humacon.org Ending uga_is_url_internal: Get tracker for external URL Start uga_track_external_url: www.jaxa.jp/index_e.html Start uga_get_option: track_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: track_ext_links (1) Tracking external links enabled Start uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links (/outgoing/) Ending uga_track_external_url: www.jaxa.jp/index_e.html Ending uga_track_full_url: /outgoing/www.jaxa.jp/index_e.html Adding onclick attribute for /outgoing/www.jaxa.jp/index_e.html Ending uga_preg_callback: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Start uga_preg_callback: Array Get tracker for full url Start uga_track_full_url: cleantechnica.com/files/2009/11/space-solar-power-system-usef-jaxa-ssps.jpg Start uga_is_url_internal: cleantechnica.com/files/2009/11/space-solar-power-system-usef-jaxa-ssps.jpg Start uga_get_option: internal_domains uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, 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'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: prefix_ext_links (/outgoing/) Ending uga_track_external_url: repository.tksc.jaxa.jp/dr/detail?DEF_XSL=05&SUM_START=111&SUM_NUMBER=20&IS_SCH=META&IS_STYLE=eng&DB_ID=G0000001AIREX&GRP_ID=G0000001&IS_TYPE=meta&IS_DB=G0000001AIREX001&IS_START=112&IS_NUMBER=&IS_TAG_S30=rectype&IS_KEY_S30=JAXA&IS_LGC_S30=AND&IS_TAG_S1=D072CC&IS_LGC_S2=AND&PAGE_KIND=category&SYS_TYPE=jaxa&IS_KEY_S1=%E7%A0%94%E7%A9%B6%E9%96%8B%E7%99%BA%E8%B3%87%E6%96%99&IS_KIND=MetaMeta Ending uga_track_full_url: /outgoing/repository.tksc.jaxa.jp/dr/detail?DEF_XSL=05&SUM_START=111&SUM_NUMBER=20&IS_SCH=META&IS_STYLE=eng&DB_ID=G0000001AIREX&GRP_ID=G0000001&IS_TYPE=meta&IS_DB=G0000001AIREX001&IS_START=112&IS_NUMBER=&IS_TAG_S30=rectype&IS_KEY_S30=JAXA&IS_LGC_S30=AND&IS_TAG_S1=D072CC&IS_LGC_S2=AND&PAGE_KIND=category&SYS_TYPE=jaxa&IS_KEY_S1=%E7%A0%94%E7%A9%B6%E9%96%8B%E7%99%BA%E8%B3%87%E6%96%99&IS_KIND=MetaMeta Adding onclick attribute for /outgoing/repository.tksc.jaxa.jp/dr/detail?DEF_XSL=05&SUM_START=111&SUM_NUMBER=20&IS_SCH=META&IS_STYLE=eng&DB_ID=G0000001AIREX&GRP_ID=G0000001&IS_TYPE=meta&IS_DB=G0000001AIREX001&IS_START=112&IS_NUMBER=&IS_TAG_S30=rectype&IS_KEY_S30=JAXA&IS_LGC_S30=AND&IS_TAG_S1=D072CC&IS_LGC_S2=AND&PAGE_KIND=category&SYS_TYPE=jaxa&IS_KEY_S1=%E7%A0%94%E7%A9%B6%E9%96%8B%E7%99%BA%E8%B3%87%E6%96%99&IS_KIND=MetaMeta Ending uga_preg_callback: According to a 2004 study by JAXA Ending uga_filter:

The Japanese space agency has unveiled an incredible new plan to start collecting solar power in space, and zap it down to Earth via microwaves or laser beams.

Under the plan, known as the Space Solar Power System (SSPS), floating photovoltaic dishes several square miles across would hover in geostationary orbit outside the Earth’s atmosphere as soon as 2030.

According to a researcher at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, one of the project participants, “Since solar power is a clean and inexhaustible energy source, we believe that this system will be able to help solve the problems of energy shortage and global warming. The sun’s rays abound in space.” (Another picture after the jump).

To achieve this ambitious and highly futuristic aim, the Japanese government has recently chosen a consortium of companies and scientists charged with making the multi-billion-dollar dream of unlimited clean energy a reality in as little as 20 years. The team, called the Institute for Unmanned Space Experiment Free Flyer (USEF), also includes Mitsubishi Electric, NEC, Fujitsu and Sharp.

The plan is that the giant solar cells would harvest solar energy, which is at least five times stronger in space than on Earth, and beam it down to terra firma through clusters of lasers or microwaves.

Tadashige Takiya, a spokesman at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), told reporters that the beams would then be collected by gigantic parabolic antennae, most likely located in restricted areas at sea or on dam reservoirs.

At this stage, the consortium are hoping to create a one gigawatt system, equivalent to a medium-sized nuclear power plant, that would produce electricity at eight yen (nine cents) per kilowatt-hour, six times cheaper than the current cost in the country.

Tatsuhito Fujita, one of the JAXA researchers heading the project said that within several years, “a satellite designed to test the transmission by microwave should be put into low orbit with a Japanese rocket.”

The next step, scheduled for around 2020, is to launch and test a large flexible photovoltaic structure with 10 megawatt power capacity, to be followed by a 250 megawatt prototype.

Officials say that this would help evaluate the project’s financial viability, the final aim being to produce electricity cheap enough to compete with other alternative energy sources.

JAXA maintains that the transmission technology would be safe but concedes it would have to convince the public to accept the controversial plan, admitting that some may harbour images of laser beams shooting down from the sky, roasting birds or slicing up aircraft in mid-air.

According to a 2004 study by JAXA, the words ‘laser’ and ‘microwave’ caused the most concern among the 1,000 people questioned.

Start uga_filter:

Within the Consolider HOPE project (projects funded by the Ministry of Innovation and Science), a group of scientists at Universidad Pablo de Olavide (UPO), headed by Juan Antonio Anta, are working on the optimisation of a type of photovoltaic cell (Grätzel cell) that artificially mimics photosynthesis.

Grätzel cells are photovoltaic devices that take advantage of the interaction of a structured semiconductor less than nanometre in size and an organic dye that acts as a solar collector.

According to Elena Guillén, member of UPO’s Coloides y Celdas Solares Nanoestructuradas (Nanostructured Colloids and Solar Cells) Group, this dye can be either synthetic or natural and can even enable the use of chlorophyll for this type of cell.

Thus, researchers at UPO have begun a study with which they hope to increase the efficiency of these eosin or mercurochrome -based organic components by incorporating ionic salts, known as green solvents, with a view to preventing evaporation of the liquid compounds and the consequent reduction in efficiency.

Previous studies show that ionic salts are less volatile and it is this characteristic that the group headed by Professor Anta seeks to exploit. “Notwithstanding its liquid state, these types of solvents have high viscosity levels and, therefore, during the coming months we will continue our study, working on different alternatives within ionic liquids, their synthesis, etc.,” comments Elena Guillén.

The pros and cons of the new generation

Although there are already some third generation cells on the market (for example, for recharging mobile phones), according to the researchers their practical use is anecdotal. However, due to their properties of flexibility and variety of colours and shapes, the future of these cells lies in new market niches such as decoration or use in coloured windows that not only allow light through but use this light to generate electricity.

On the other hand, apart from the rapid amortisation of energy production costs -estimated in one year’s use-, there is also the low cost of the materials. “Organic materials are usually cheaper,” affirms the researcher, despite which the search continues for an alternative organic dye to the one currently used, derived from ruthenium.

“The paradox lies in the fact that if one uses these cells because their competitive edge is that they are cheaper and more readily available, and then one uses a dye based on a precious metal, what is the advantage?” points out Elena Guillén.

On the other hand, the researchers are aware that it is a relatively new technology -this type of cell was invented in 1991- that still need to be greatly developed. Furthermore, the maximum efficiency obtained in laboratory is only 11%, which is competitive but it drops when extrapolated to an industrial scale.

The main technological challenge is currently the problem of cell degradation. “If you use an organic dye, it can be degraded by the action of sunlight, with the consequent reduction in useful life compared to silicon cells. On the other hand,” the researcher highlights, “our group is working on one of the key aspect for improving cell stability – elimination of the need to use liquids that can present problems with evaporation, etc. and for which, as already mentioned, our focus is on the use of ionic salts.”

Start uga_in_feed Ending uga_in_feed: Start uga_track_user Start uga_get_option: ignore_users uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: ignore_users (1) Start uga_get_option: max_user_level uga_options: array ( 'internal_domains' => 'www.humacon.org,humacon.org', 'account_id' => 'UA-10399907-2', 'enable_tracker' => true, 'track_adm_pages' => false, 'ignore_users' => true, 'max_user_level' => '8', 'footer_hooked' => true, 'filter_content' => true, 'filter_comments' => true, 'filter_comment_authors' => true, 'track_ext_links' => true, 'prefix_ext_links' => '/outgoing/', 'track_files' => true, 'prefix_file_links' => '/downloads/', 'track_extensions' => 'gif,jpg,jpeg,bmp,png,pdf,mp3,wav,phps,zip,gz,tar,rar,jar,exe,pps,ppt,xls,doc', 'track_mail_links' => true, 'prefix_mail_links' => '/mailto/', 'debug' => true, 'check_updates' => true, 'version_sent' => '1.6.0', 'advanced_config' => true, ) Ending uga_get_option: max_user_level (8) Tracking user with level Ending uga_track_user: 1 Calling preg_replace_callback: ]*?)href\s*=\s*['"](.*?)['"]([^>]*)>(.*?) Ending uga_filter:

Within the Consolider HOPE project (projects funded by the Ministry of Innovation and Science), a group of scientists at Universidad Pablo de Olavide (UPO), headed by Juan Antonio Anta, are working on the optimisation of a type of photovoltaic cell (Grätzel cell) that artificially mimics photosynthesis.

Grätzel cells are photovoltaic devices that take advantage of the interaction of a structured semiconductor less than nanometre in size and an organic dye that acts as a solar collector.

According to Elena Guillén, member of UPO’s Coloides y Celdas Solares Nanoestructuradas (Nanostructured Colloids and Solar Cells) Group, this dye can be either synthetic or natural and can even enable the use of chlorophyll for this type of cell.

Thus, researchers at UPO have begun a study with which they hope to increase the efficiency of these eosin or mercurochrome -based organic components by incorporating ionic salts, known as green solvents, with a view to preventing evaporation of the liquid compounds and the consequent reduction in efficiency.

Previous studies show that ionic salts are less volatile and it is this characteristic that the group headed by Professor Anta seeks to exploit. “Notwithstanding its liquid state, these types of solvents have high viscosity levels and, therefore, during the coming months we will continue our study, working on different alternatives within ionic liquids, their synthesis, etc.,” comments Elena Guillén.

The pros and cons of the new generation

Although there are already some third generation cells on the market (for example, for recharging mobile phones), according to the researchers their practical use is anecdotal. However, due to their properties of flexibility and variety of colours and shapes, the future of these cells lies in new market niches such as decoration or use in coloured windows that not only allow light through but use this light to generate electricity.

On the other hand, apart from the rapid amortisation of energy production costs -estimated in one year’s use-, there is also the low cost of the materials. “Organic materials are usually cheaper,” affirms the researcher, despite which the search continues for an alternative organic dye to the one currently used, derived from ruthenium.

“The paradox lies in the fact that if one uses these cells because their competitive edge is that they are cheaper and more readily available, and then one uses a dye based on a precious metal, what is the advantage?” points out Elena Guillén.

On the other hand, the researchers are aware that it is a relatively new technology -this type of cell was invented in 1991- that still need to be greatly developed. Furthermore, the maximum efficiency obtained in laboratory is only 11%, which is competitive but it drops when extrapolated to an industrial scale.

The main technological challenge is currently the problem of cell degradation. “If you use an organic dye, it can be degraded by the action of sunlight, with the consequent reduction in useful life compared to silicon cells. On the other hand,” the researcher highlights, “our group is working on one of the key aspect for improving cell stability – elimination of the need to use liquids that can present problems with evaporation, etc. and for which, as already mentioned, our focus is on the use of ionic salts.”

Start uga_filter:

Solar Roads are the future power houses of the world. We all know that there are many million miles of roads built in the world, what if all those roads were able to harness sun’s energy?

Well, considering the massive network of roads and highways, a huge amount of power would be generated even if solar panels with just 15% efficiency are used. These roads could also have embedded LED lights in them which can provide navigation to the travelers and tell them about any road blockages due to accidents etc. These roads would also be able to re-route the entire traffic.

US Department of Energy recognized the huge potential in this concept and gave a $100,000 contract to a company named “Solar Roadways”. The firm will build a prototype 12 x 12 feet solar panel which could be fixed into roads.

If this experiment turns out to be successful then who knows one day we forget about Nuclear or any other energy and just rely on Solar Roads because they have a huge potential.

See the video below for some detailed information.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3PeSm6_hTE

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Solar Roads are the future power houses of the world. We all know that there are many million miles of roads built in the world, what if all those roads were able to harness sun’s energy?

Well, considering the massive network of roads and highways, a huge amount of power would be generated even if solar panels with just 15% efficiency are used. These roads could also have embedded LED lights in them which can provide navigation to the travelers and tell them about any road blockages due to accidents etc. These roads would also be able to re-route the entire traffic.

US Department of Energy recognized the huge potential in this concept and gave a $100,000 contract to a company named “Solar Roadways”. The firm will build a prototype 12 x 12 feet solar panel which could be fixed into roads.

If this experiment turns out to be successful then who knows one day we forget about Nuclear or any other energy and just rely on Solar Roads because they have a huge potential.

See the video below for some detailed information.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3PeSm6_hTE

Start uga_filter:

University of Florida chemists have pioneered a method to tease out promising molecular structures for capturing energy, a step that could speed the development of more efficient, cheaper solar cells.

“This gives us a new way of studying light-matter interactions,” said Valeria Kleiman, a UF associate professor of chemistry. “It enables us to study not just how the molecule reacts, but actually to change how it reacts, so we can test different energy transfer pathways and find the most efficient one.”

Kleiman is the principal investigator in the research featured in a paper set to appear Friday in the journal Science.

Her work focuses on molecules known as dendrimers whose many branching units make them good energy absorbers. The amount of energy the synthetic molecules can amass and transfer depends on which path the energy takes as it moves through the molecule. Kleiman and three co-authors are the first to gain control of this process in real time. The team demonstrated that it could use phased tailored laser pulses — light whose constituent colors travel at different speeds — to prompt the energy to travel down different paths.

“What we see is that we control where the energy goes by encoding different information in the excitation pulses,” Kleiman said.

Researchers who now test every new molecular structure for its energy storage and transfer efficiency may be able to use what Kleiman called a new spectroscopic tool to quickly identify the most promising structures for photovoltaic devices.

“Imagine you want to go from here to Miami, and the road is blocked somewhere,” she said. “With this process, we’re able to say, ‘Don’t take that road, follow another one instead.’”

The other authors of the Science paper are Daniel Kuroda, C.P. Singh and Zhonghua Peng. The research was supported by UF and the National Science Foundation.

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University of Florida chemists have pioneered a method to tease out promising molecular structures for capturing energy, a step that could speed the development of more efficient, cheaper solar cells.

“This gives us a new way of studying light-matter interactions,” said Valeria Kleiman, a UF associate professor of chemistry. “It enables us to study not just how the molecule reacts, but actually to change how it reacts, so we can test different energy transfer pathways and find the most efficient one.”

Kleiman is the principal investigator in the research featured in a paper set to appear Friday in the journal Science.

Her work focuses on molecules known as dendrimers whose many branching units make them good energy absorbers. The amount of energy the synthetic molecules can amass and transfer depends on which path the energy takes as it moves through the molecule. Kleiman and three co-authors are the first to gain control of this process in real time. The team demonstrated that it could use phased tailored laser pulses — light whose constituent colors travel at different speeds — to prompt the energy to travel down different paths.

“What we see is that we control where the energy goes by encoding different information in the excitation pulses,” Kleiman said.

Researchers who now test every new molecular structure for its energy storage and transfer efficiency may be able to use what Kleiman called a new spectroscopic tool to quickly identify the most promising structures for photovoltaic devices.

“Imagine you want to go from here to Miami, and the road is blocked somewhere,” she said. “With this process, we’re able to say, ‘Don’t take that road, follow another one instead.’”

The other authors of the Science paper are Daniel Kuroda, C.P. Singh and Zhonghua Peng. The research was supported by UF and the National Science Foundation.

Start uga_filter:

IMEC, one of the leading European research centers in photovoltaics, and BP Solar, a leading energy company, demonstrated a 18% conversion efficiency for silicon solar cells made of BP Solar’s newly developed Mono2^TM silicon. By combining IMEC’s advanced processing techniques with BP Solar’s high-quality low-cost substrates, the companies demonstrated that Mono2 has a good potential to become a new base material for low-cost highly-efficient solar cells.

low cost solar cell

BP Solar’s Mono2 production process delivers a promising new wafer platform for solar cells with the potential to become a low-cost alternative to the more expensive Czochralski silicon substrates because it combines extremely low defect densities and high conversion efficiencies with production costs that are comparable to the costs of traditional multicrystalline substrates. The production of Mono2 involves a proprietary growth nucleation process for the casting of ingots used to produce single crystal bricks and wafers whereby preferred crystallographic orientations can be achieved. This feature allows further improvement in cell efficiencies. BP Solar’s Mono2 was developed with support of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Technologies Pathways Partnership.

IMEC’s cell production process is feasible as an industrial production process as it only adds three processing steps to the standard industrially applied process of full aluminum back surface field.

IMEC’s solar cells are 130?m thick and cover an area of 156mmx156mm. Using IMEC’s advanced processes such as dielectric passivation and a localized back surface field, a conversion efficiency of 18% for the new low-cost Mono2 silicon solar cells, which is in the range of the current commercial solar cells, has been demonstrated with a dramatic reduction in cell thickness.

Jef Poortmans, Program Director Photovoltaics said, “IMEC’s photovoltaic research aims towards a sharp reduction in production cost and at the same time an increase of the efficiency of crystalline silicon solar cells. Our partners can leverage our advanced processing techniques, to create high-efficiency low-cost solar cells based on their proprietary high-quality materials and knowhow.”

Eric Daniels, BP Solar’s vice president, global technology said “BP Solar is working to leverage such key technology developments to further reduce the cost of PV electricity. Working with R&D centers such as IMEC and key customers, we are commercializing this technology and seek to provide a better platform for the current and next generation solar cells. This collaboration with IMEC represents significant progress towards that goal.”

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IMEC, one of the leading European research centers in photovoltaics, and BP Solar, a leading energy company, demonstrated a 18% conversion efficiency for silicon solar cells made of BP Solar’s newly developed Mono2^TM silicon. By combining IMEC’s advanced processing techniques with BP Solar’s high-quality low-cost substrates, the companies demonstrated that Mono2 has a good potential to become a new base material for low-cost highly-efficient solar cells.

low cost solar cell

BP Solar’s Mono2 production process delivers a promising new wafer platform for solar cells with the potential to become a low-cost alternative to the more expensive Czochralski silicon substrates because it combines extremely low defect densities and high conversion efficiencies with production costs that are comparable to the costs of traditional multicrystalline substrates. The production of Mono2 involves a proprietary growth nucleation process for the casting of ingots used to produce single crystal bricks and wafers whereby preferred crystallographic orientations can be achieved. This feature allows further improvement in cell efficiencies. BP Solar’s Mono2 was developed with support of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Technologies Pathways Partnership.

IMEC’s cell production process is feasible as an industrial production process as it only adds three processing steps to the standard industrially applied process of full aluminum back surface field.

IMEC’s solar cells are 130?m thick and cover an area of 156mmx156mm. Using IMEC’s advanced processes such as dielectric passivation and a localized back surface field, a conversion efficiency of 18% for the new low-cost Mono2 silicon solar cells, which is in the range of the current commercial solar cells, has been demonstrated with a dramatic reduction in cell thickness.

Jef Poortmans, Program Director Photovoltaics said, “IMEC’s photovoltaic research aims towards a sharp reduction in production cost and at the same time an increase of the efficiency of crystalline silicon solar cells. Our partners can leverage our advanced processing techniques, to create high-efficiency low-cost solar cells based on their proprietary high-quality materials and knowhow.”

Eric Daniels, BP Solar’s vice president, global technology said “BP Solar is working to leverage such key technology developments to further reduce the cost of PV electricity. Working with R&D centers such as IMEC and key customers, we are commercializing this technology and seek to provide a better platform for the current and next generation solar cells. This collaboration with IMEC represents significant progress towards that goal.”

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