A recent study found that current solar technology is more efficient at transforming sunlight into energy than plants.

Biomimicry is basically the practice of observing processes in nature, and copying Mother Earth’s strategy for efficiency and waste reduction. In an interesting twist, however, an article published in the May edition of Science found that photovoltaic-driven electrolysis is the more efficient process compared with photosynthesis and measured on an annual basis.

But, say some scientists, it’s almost impossible to compare the two processes on a level playing field:

“Plants are less efficient at capturing the energy in sunlight than solar cells mostly because they have too much evolutionary baggage,” say researchers at Michigan State University. “Plants have to power a living thing, whereas solar cells only have to send electricity down a wire. This is a big difference because if photosynthesis makes a mistake, it makes toxic byproducts that kill the organism. Photosynthesis has to be conservative to avoid killing the organisms it powers.”

Just as important as efficiency are life-cycle costs—the capital cost and valuation of the environmental impact of a product from its creation to its destruction. It would be hard to argue that man’s process of producing, installing, repairing and recycling of a home solar system is anywhere near as benign as the sprouting, blooming, and eventual composting of a wild plant.

David Kramer, a professor of photosynthesis and bioenergetics at Michigan State University says that for a true comparison, plants that package the sun’s energy in handy little stored-fuel vessels (carbon-based molecules) should be compared not to solar cells that just take the first step of converting the sun’s energy to jazzed-up electrons, but to solar cell arrays that also store energy in chemical bonds.

Article by Beth Buczynski, appearing courtesy Crisp Green.

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Colorado is a great place for solar energy production, so it seems fitting that the state serves a role in developing more advanced solar technologies. The industry took a large step in this direction in early June with the official opening of the Solar Technology Acceleration Center or SolarTAC near the Denver International Airport. The 74-acre tract of land — with its flat topography and 300 days of sunshine a year — is like a giant, outdoor laboratory where the solar industry can research, test, validate and demonstrate solar technologies. The facility’s mission is to increase the efficiency of solar energy products and rapidly deploy them to the commercial market.

SolarTAC is set up to allow members to sponsor a range of projects from proprietary research to shared work. It is also open to research sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and by national entities like the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Current membership in the facility includes: Abengoa Solar, the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, Amonix, the Electric Power Research Institute, SunEdison and Xcel Energy.

“The facilities and infrastructure at the site allow us to test, then demonstrate key components under development,” said Henry W. Price, Abengoa Solar’s vice president of technology. “SolarTAC is an important part of Abengoa’s U.S. development approach to new technologies.”

“The Alliance for Sustainable Energy is excited to see the SolarTAC vision come to life,” said Dana Christensen, NREL’s deputy lab director for Science & Technology. “This collaboration provides a unique opportunity for evaluation of solar technology performance under real-world conditions and contributes to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s critical role in developing and testing the next generation of solar energy technologies together with its integration onto the electric grid.”

Wouldn’t it be great if we could learn to corral the power of the sun (and wind for that matter) more efficiently? It would go a long way toward increasing our use of renewable energy and reaching our goals.

We look forward to seeing what other innovative solutions come out of the SolarTAC facility in years to come.

Article by Dan Hauser, appearing courtesy Xcel Energy Blog.

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Anyone who follows news on new solar technology is probably aware that conversion efficiency, that is, the amount of solar light, that actually becomes electricity, is the top challenge for this industry. Currently the top conversion rate is around 18% which means there’s definitely room for much more efficiency.

In a recent interview, Hypersolar’s CEO Tim Young said what we should be looking for “disruptive technologies”, which are technologies that represent game-changing breakthroughs, not traditional technologies that may not be economically viable over the long term without government subsidies. “We need technologies that will boost performance by 500% or 1,000%, not 1% or 2%”, Mr. Young told Energy Refuge.

A new technology developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory doesn’t quite do that, but it succeeds in improving light-to-power conversion efficiency of photovoltaics by almost 80%.

The technology was developed by Jun Xu and consists of a 3-D nanocone-based solar cell platform made of zinc oxide. The n-type nanocones are surrounded by a p-type semiconductor and serve as the junction framework and the electron conductor. The p-type matrix is made of polycrystalline cadmium telluride and serves as the primary photon absorber medium and hole conductor.

“We created a nanocone-based solar cell, invented methods to synthesize these cells and demonstrated improved charge collection efficiency,” said Xu, who is a member of ORNL’s Chemical Sciences Division.

Xu and his colleagues said they were able to achieve a light-to-power conversion efficiency of 3.2%. The usual rate for conventional planar structure of the same material is 1.8%.

“We designed the three-dimensional structure to provide an intrinsic electric field distribution that promotes efficient charge transport and high efficiency in converting energy from sunlight into electricity,” Xu said. The important concept behind our invention is that the nanocone shape generates a high electric field in the vicinity of the tip junction, effectively separating, injecting and collecting minority carriers, resulting in a higher efficiency than that of a conventional planar cell made with the same materials.

The laboratory said some of the key features of the solar material include its unique electric field distribution that achieves efficient charge transport; the synthesis of nanocones using inexpensive proprietary methods; and the minimization of defects and voids in semiconductors. The latter provides enhanced electric and optical properties for conversion of solar photons to electricity.

Another positive quality of the new solar cell is that it can tolerate defective materials and reduce cost in fabricating next-generation solar cells.

The research behind this technology was accepted by this year’s Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers photovoltaic specialist conference and will be published in the IEEE Proceedings. The papers are titled “Efficient Charge Transport in Nanocone Tip-Film Solar Cells” and “Nanojunction solar cells based on polycrystalline CdTe films grown on ZnO nanocones.”

Article by Antonio Pasolini, appearing courtesy Justmeans.

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General Electric has announced plans to build the nation’s largest photovoltaic panel factory, a major piece in the company’s new $600 million investment in solar technology.

GE is considering several locations for the 400-megawatt plant, which would begin producing thin-film photovoltaic panels, made of cadmium telluride, by 2013.

Although less efficient than conventional solar panels, the technology lends itself to low-cost, high-volume production and has proven to be popular with developers and utilities operating large-scale solar plants.

At capacity, the GE facility would produce enough solar panels to power 80,000 homes annually, company officials said. “We are addressing the biggest barrier for the mainstream adoption of solar technology: cost,” said Victor Abate, vice president of GE’s renewable energy business.

The Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently certified the thin-film panel at a 12.8 percent aperture area efficiency, compared with 16 to 20 percent efficiency for conventional panels.

Article appearing courtesy Yale Environment 360.

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The Salt River Project (SRP) is a utility that delivers about a third of the electricity in Arizona. Unlike the other utilities in the state, it is not regulated by the Arizona Corporation Commission—and not covered by the state’s rules for renewable energy. Instead, it has a voluntary standard that it calls its “Sustainable Portfolio”. SRP is currently in the process of revisiting and revising their renewable procurement efforts, and has commendably opened the effort up to the public for input.

We believe that SRP should increase the amount of renewable energy it plans to procure. There are at least three good reasons:

* SRP’s current plans for procuring renewable energy—about 6.8% of retail sales by 2020, give or take–are far short of what other utilities in the state are doing, and much less than the commitments required in neighboring states. Arizona Public Service, for example, will do about twice as much in half the time.
* An investment in solar means an investment in Arizona. Solar companies have announced manufacturing efforts that will total over 6000 jobs and over $1.8 billion in investment. Solar means economic opportunity for local communities.
* SRP’s ratepayers want it. Several recent polls show that consumers want action on renewable energy—and solar polls through the roof.

All told, SRP has an opportunity to maximize beneficial impact by driving local demand, putting local people to work, and partnering with the community in creating economic opportunity. We recommend that SRP increase it’s commitment at least to the level required by other utilities in the state.

Renewable Goals
Using the data provided publicly by SRP, analysis shows (pdf) that SRP’s current plans would result in non-hydro renewable energy resources comprising about 6.8% of SRP’s total retail sales in 2020. This figure is less than the requirement for ACC-regulated utilities, which will reach 10% by 2020 and 15% by 2025. And other utilities in the state are making plans to exceed even those requirements. Arizona Public Service, for, example, has announced commitments (since approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission) to exceed 10% renewable energy by 2015 .

Neighboring states are doing much more. A year ago, building upon the voter-mandated Renewable Portfolio Standard, Colorado passed legislation requiring 30% renewables by 2020. Nevada recently set a standard of 20% by 2020 (ramping to 25% by 2025, of which a quarter may come from certain energy efficiency efforts). California’s utilities are required to reach 20% by 2010, and Governor Schwarzenegger issued an Executive Order requiring 33% by 2020 (a legislative requirement to that same effect is expected shortly).

Comparison of Renewable Goals
SRP: Approx 6.8% by 2020
ACC Renewable Energy Standard: 10% by 2020, 15% by 2025
Arizona Public Service plan: 10% by 2015
Colorado Renewable Portfolio: 30% by 2020
Nevada Renewable Portfolio Standard: 20% by 2020, 25% by 2025
California Renewable Portfolio Standard: 20% by 2010, 33% by 2020

While SRP’s efforts to invest in renewables are laudable, they fall far short of what’s required of other utilities in the state–some of whom are exceeding even those goals. SRP’s efforts are also far short of what’s being done in neighboring states. Clearly, there is precedent to do much more than what SRP currently plans.

Economic Investment
An investment in solar is an investment in Arizona’s economy. Every megawatt of installed solar capacity creates up 30 job-years throughout the value-chain, from manufacturing to installation to operations. Installation jobs are by definition local, and there are many local companies in Arizona that have developed world-class expertise in low-cost installations. And the larger the local market, the lower prices they can deliver through economies of scale, increased experience, and better-amortized overhead.

Because of favorable conditions and a burgeoning local market, Arizona has become a destination of choice for those looking to site new manufacturing plants. FirstSolar recently announced that it will build a new photovoltaic manufacturing plant in Mesa, with a projected capacity of 250 MW. Suntech, another major manufacturer, opened a PV plant in Goodyear that has already nearly doubled in capacity since October, and employs 100 people. The site has room to scale depending on demand. PowerOne opened an inverter manufacturing plant. Solon has a manufacturing facility in Tucson. Gestamp Solar Steel Company opened a facility in Surprise, Arizona, to manufacture components for concentrating solar applications. Tower Automotive, Rioglass, Linamar, AlphaEnergies, and Faist have all recently made decisions to site manufacturing operations in the greater Phoenix area. All told, according to the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, recent private commitments to manufacturing in the state have totaled about $1.8 billion dollars of investment, and will create around 6,000 manufacturing jobs.

The University of Arizona and Arizona State have each invested significant resources into developing world-class research institutions. AZRISE is doing hard research on solar technology. A large amount of the Technology Research Initiative Funds (TRIF) are going into solar efforts. The Science Foundation of Arizona recently gave a $1 million grant to a UA researcher for development of next-generation solar technology. And community colleges (such as Pima Community College) have invested large amounts of money to create a pipeline of talent for solar–and individuals that are participating in those programs are investing their time, energy, and money on the promise of being a part of a cleantech economy.

Clearly the cumulative energies of the civic, academic, and economic forces of the state are oriented towards making Arizona a world leader for solar. Their efforts will be for naught if there is not sufficient demand for the products. SRP should play its part by driving local demand, putting local people to work, and partnering with the community in creating economic opportunity. An investment in solar helps keep money in the local economy. Arizona produces no natural gas–increasing natural gas generation sends more money out of the state. SRP has a wonderful opportunity to play a proactive, positive role in Arizona’s cleantech leadership and economic renaissance. The point is well made by a recent Arizona Republic editorial.

Polls
SRP commissioned a poll on customer attitudes, which provided some extraordinary results. According to SRP’s data, only 7% of Arizonans think that no action should be taken on climate change, and 71% think that action should be taken now. According to a recent poll by Public Opinion Strategies and Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates:

“More than four-in-five say that it is time to start replacing coal with renewable energy sources. Given a choice between investing in renewable energy like wind and solar power and investing in pollution control equipment for coal-burning power plants in light of updated air quality safeguards, voters are three times as likely to prefer an investment in renewable energy and transitioning away from coal. A majority believes that such a transition would create new jobs in Arizona, rather than cut the number of jobs in the state.”

Clearly, there is strong preference on behalf of ratepayer to do more.

Solar can and should be a central part of Arizona’s economic renaissance. SRP’s current plans for investment in renewable energy are far short of what other utilities in the state are pursuing, and much less than what is required in other states. Solar provides a great value for ratepayers, and economic opportunity for the state. SRP should increase its commitment at least to what neighboring utilities are pursuing, and even more if it wishes to take a leadership position.

If you want to get involved, take action here.

Vote Solar is a non-profit grassroots organization working to fight climate change and foster economic opportunity by bringing solar energy into the mainstream.

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You wouldn’t expect that energy from sunlight, which is very hot, could power air-conditioning units to cool things down. But that’s precisely the latest breakthrough from China-based Shandong Vicot Air Conditioning Co.

Debuting its solar-powered people-cooler at the 2010 World Solar-Powered Air Conditioning Development Forum in Dezhou, China, Shandong demonstrated that the idea is not only feasible, but practicable.

The unit achieves an optimal 85-percent thermal cooling conversion efficiency, and is 27 times more efficient at converting solar insolation to cool air than even the average solar water heater. Since passive and flat-plate solar water heaters are among the most efficient ways to convert solar insolation to usable hot water, this is amazing. More amazing is the fact that the unit is a direct-from-solar cooling device, rather than air conditioning that runs off the electricity generated by solar panels.

According to Shandong Vicot President Li Wen, the A/C unit is the culmination of three years of pioneering solar research efforts by Chinese and American scientists, who collaborated to achieve this cutting-edge technology, which is not only low-carbon but low cost. That is, the unit will recoup its initial investment in 3.5 years, and the entire investment in 6.7 years.

Industry experts were almost unanimous in their opinion that the Shandong Vicot offering is an innovation worthy of China’s increasingly dominant solar technology sector. It also represents an arrow in time for the industry’s future development, particularly as the world is replete with solar technologies to extract electricity from sunlight, but heretofore has no method for converting solar insolation to cooler air.

If, as predicted, 2060 sees the Earth exhausted of its traditional sources of energy like coal, oil and gas, the advent of clean energy technologies like solar, which can be tweaked to produce light, heat and cooling, will be a literal lifesaver.

For China, the world’s largest producer and consumer of solar power, the invention is a milestone. The Chinese people have taken to solar-powered water heating in a big way, and the industry itself reached 4.2 million square meters production capacity in 2009, or an annual growth rate of 35.4 percent.

China now produces 40 percent of the world’s solar cells. In spite of that, most of China’s solar-related production is destined for export, even though last year China rose to be the world’s biggest energy user in 2009 – a record formerly held by the U.S.

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A $400 billon (£240 billion) plan to provide Europe with solar power from the Sahara desert moved a step closer to reality with the formation of a consortium of 12 companies to carry out the work. Known as the Desertec Industrial Initiative (DDI), the German-led consortium consists of some of country’s biggest engineering and power companies, along with Munich Re, the largest reinsurer in the world.

Since the project was first announced in July, the DII has gained support from a wide variety of political and governmental institutions in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.

The DDI believes it can deliver solar power to Europe as early as 2015. It aims to provide 15% of Europe’s electricity by 2050 or earlier via power lines stretching across the desert and Mediterranean Sea.

The solar technology involved is known as concentrated solar power, (CSP) which uses mirrors to concentrate the sun’s rays on a fluid container. The super-heated liquid then drives turbines to generate electricity.

The technology is not new, but it is the scale of the Desertec initiative which is a first, along with plans to connect North Africa to Europe with new high voltage direct current cables which transport electricity over great distances with little energy loss.

Article by Vanessa L. Bourlier appearing courtesy of ENN

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