University of Maryland Finishes in First Place Overall & Appalachian State Wins People’s Choice Award at DOE Solar Decathlon 2011

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 concluded this weekend on the National Mall’s West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C. Approximately 4,000 collegiate students from five countries on four continents invested countless hours of time and tireless effort to participate in this prestigious, clean energy competition. In spite of the cloudy and rainy weather during a majority of the contest days, seven out of the 19 highly energy efficient solar-powered houses designed by the student competitors still produced more energy than they consumed. Additionally, student team members led more than 357,000 tours to share the energy-saving features of their houses with the public. In the end, the University of Maryland was crowned the overall winner. At Saturday evening’s Victory Reception, Appalachian State University won the People’s Choice Award for the public’s favorite Solar Decathlon house, a poll in which more than 92,000 votes were cast by visitors, fans and consumers.

The Solar Decathlon is an award-winning competition that challenges collegiate teams from around the world to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are affordable, highly energy efficient, attractive, and easy to live in. The 2011 teams and their houses represented a broad range of design solutions, geographic locations and climates, and were targeted toward urban, suburban and rural settings. The houses were intended for different housing markets, including lower-income, disaster relief, retirement, and single family.

“The Solar Decathlon’s impact is threefold,” said Richard King, director of the Solar Decathlon for the U.S. Department of Energy. “Over the last two years, the student competitors have received unique training that prepares them to enter our nation’s clean energy workforce. Visitors and consumers learned firsthand that affordable, energy-efficient features in these innovative houses can help them save money today. And this year’s competition houses will become teaching tools for industry professionals and students around the world.”

The winner of the competition is the team that best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency. The top three overall finishers of the Solar Decathlon 2011 were the University of Maryland, Purdue University, and New Zealand (Victoria University of Wellington). The complete list of final results and team scores may be found at www.SolarDecathlon.gov.

University of Maryland Wins Architecture Contest at U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011

(Credit: Stefano Paltera/U.S. Department of Energy)

Washinton, DC (9/28/11) – Announced today before an enthusiastic crowd at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, the University of Maryland took first place in the highly competitive Architecture Contest of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011. For the Architecture Contest, collegiate students from around the world are judged on the design and construction of attractive, high-performance houses that integrate renewable energy systems and energy-efficient technologies. Dennis Andrejko, representing the American Institute of Architects, presented the award in front of an audience that included government leaders and Solar Decathlon student team members.

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 is an award-winning program that challenges collegiate students from around the world to design, build and operate solar-powered houses that are affordable, highly energy efficient, attractive, and easy to live in. The competition shows consumers how to save money and energy with affordable clean energy products that are available today. The nearly two-year projects culminate in an unprecedented display of affordable green living and design on the National Mall’s West Potomac Park from September 23 – October 2, 2011. The Solar Decathlon also provides participating students with hands-on experience and unique training that prepares them to enter our nation’s clean energy workforce, supporting the Obama Administration’s goal of transitioning to a clean energy economy while saving families and businesses money.

Un-Analytics: How Google Went Solar

by Dan Auld

September 8, 2011 -  Google loves talking about world before analytics — when web owners knew almost nothing about their sites.

Nothing useful, anyway.

That all changed when a new technology came along that allowed web owners to monitor their sites as much as they wanted. Any time they wanted.

Web sites suddenly became a business proposition, not just an enthusiasm for a few hobbyists.

Flash forward from the introduction of Google Analytics up to 2007, when Google got into the solar business and opened a 1.65 megawatt photovoltaic power array. The largest commercial system in the world at the time.

Just like web sites before Analytics, Google would soon learn how little it actually knew about its solar array.

After its panels were up for 15 months, Google cleaned them and documented its efforts in a report called “Getting the most energy out of Google’s solar panels.”

On several sections of its array, solar energy output doubled after the cleaning. Eight months later, energy output went up 37 percent after another cleaning. But here comes the money graph:

It would be difficult to detect manufacturer defects or accidental damage by data analysis alone, unless the damage impacts >~20% of the solar panels in that building.

Example: There have been few occasions when some of the solar panels … were damaged by delivery trucks accidentally hitting the support beams that hold up the solar panels.

Since these accidents did not damage a sizable portion of the solar panels, the damage went undetected for a while.

Losing 50 percent of your power is real money, even for Google.

“Just like the web prior to Analytics, Google had to admit it really did not know what was happening in its array — because it had no way to monitor when good panels went bad,” said Mark Yarbrourgh, a city councilman in Perris, California who pioneered the use of solar in public buildings. “But neither does anyone else. Arrays malfunction and no one knows because they do not use monitors at the panel level.”

Undetected, solar panels go bad in all sorts of ways. Panels degrade anywhere from .5% to 9.5% a year, depending on the manufacturer, says Sandia Laboratories in a study for the Department of Energy.

How will you know what your panels will do? Warranty Week Magazine says you won’t. Not really:

“ And yes, it really is guesswork.”

Dirt plays even more havoc. If not dirt, a bird dropping, or a baseball, or a golfball, or a rock, or a squirrel chewing a wire, or a Texas oak thick with pollen, or heat on the roof, or poor soldering. Or a shadow — all worse than you think, says the National Renewable Energy Laboratories:

“ The reduction in power from shading half of one cell is equivalent to removing a cell active area 36 times the shadow’s actual size.”

“One bird, one truck of dirt, one flowering tree can destroy your solar production, and you would not know for a long time,” Yarbrough said. “Welcome to the Christmas Tree Effect: Hurt the panel a little, hurt production a lot. It is amazing how many people put up solar for great reasons, but really do not watch their systems. As a result, a lot of people lose a lot of money because many, many systems are not producing the power its owners were promised. And few know.”

Maybe because knowing it is not that useful.

“If your solar array produces a megawatt of power, that means it is composed of 3000 to 5000 panels,” said Ray Burgess, CEO of Solar Power Technologies. “If some panels go bad, you need panel level monitoring to find the bad panels. But most systems monitor power at the system level, but as Google found out, that is that useful for detecting catastrophic failure, but not much else.”

Thus the need for small wireless monitors throughout the array.

“Now that we have cost effective monitors from a company in Austin, that is going to change the world, just like Google Analytics.”

Leading the solar monitor business is Burgess and Solar Power Technologies of Austin, Texas. The company is introducing monitors and other devices to give solar array owners unprecedented control over their panels. If you have 3500 panels and a few start breaking, you better have something better than “guesswork” to optimize your array.

“As we travel the country talking to panel owners about their systems, we are constantly amazed at how many systems that are producing power far below their capacity, and some not producing power at all. Monitors on the panels can change that and let you know what is really happening with your system. And where it is happening. Saving system owners thousands of dollars a month.”

Just like Google Analytics.

Empower Energies Seeks North American Renewable Energy Projects In Need of Financing

US renewable energy investment advisory services and development company specializes in connecting bankable projects with financing.

Empower Energies, LLC, a global renewable energy investment advisory services and development company headquartered outside Washington, DC, announced the availability of new funding sources for renewable energy projects, with an emphasis on North American ventures.

“We’re looking to immediately secure more bankable renewable energy projects,” said Len Jornlin, President and CEO of Empower Energies. “Over the next 45 days we’re prioritizing projects for domestic investors and several visiting international due diligence teams on site visits to the US.”

The company’s consortium of investors is seeking to finance or acquire clean energy projects, developers, or manufacturers according to the criteria listed in this downloadable pdf. This group will also consider co-investment in renewable energy funds.

“We are exclusively focused on Renewables,” Jornlin noted. “That is our forte. Our partners are primarily interested in solar, wind, and biomass projects, and in developers with “live? projects.”

Empower Energies offers extensive financing and development expertise in the renewable energy business worldwide. Since 1994, its management team has experience in the pioneering clean energy companies of their time on the ground in more than 45 countries across Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

Empower Energies provides fit-for-market solutions which accelerate development and entry or expansion into growing markets. Working closely with a unique mix of financing partners, the company understands and manages risk – especially in emerging markets – and delivers attractive returns on investment and measurable local economic development.

Although the organization specializes in emerging clean energy markets worldwide, Empower Energies is a US-based company, and is currently focused on the rapidly-developing North American marketplace.

“Solar, in particular, has been a cyclical business,” Jornlin continued. “Investment has traditionally focused where government support intersects with a strong technology base, manufacturing capacity, local development capability, and an engaged public. Right now no markets are hotter than the United States and Canada.”

Empower Energies helps local developers do more faster with less risk, by providing financial resources, proven expertise, and global relationships. The company provides select partners in emerging clean energy markets with an array of branded, adaptable tools and services engineered to enable accelerated time-to-market, ROI, and risk management.

Since its founding in 2009, Empower Energies has originated and executed confidential investor transactions amounting to more than $378 million, including the monetization of “orphaned” or distressed solar and wind projects.

About Empower Energies, LLC
Founded to finance and develop clean energy projects globally, Empower Energies, LLC also specializes in helping overseas Renewable Energy companies compress their North American market entry timeline. With a focus on solar electric projects, the organization’s principals provide extensive experience in solar photovoltaic CPV, biomass and other renewable energy technologies as well. Empower Energies has significant experience across the solar value chain, and offers a successful track record since 1994 in established and emerging solar markets around the world. To date, Empower Energies has provided investment advisory services and clean energy investment opportunities valued at $378 million. The company is headquartered just outside Washington, DC, in Frederick, MD, USA.

Removing the Rare Element Shackles from Solar Energy

By Daryl J. Ehrmantraut

Our future energy requirements depend on reaching the ‘holy grail’ of electricity generation – Finding a cheaper alternative to coal and other fossil fuels. The availability of an alternative energy source would also contribute significantly to energy self-sufficiency in North America.

Every hour more energy from the sun hits the earth than the world’s entire population consumes in a single year. Given this abundance, solar energy is our world’s most obvious energy choice. Why then, is less than 1% of our global electricity supply powered by solar energy? Because the industry has been unable to harness the three critical success factors for global solar deployment – high efficiency, low cost and high materials availability for deployment on a global scale.

Current solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies generate electrical power by converting solar radiation into an electric current using semiconductor material. The process involved is called the photovoltaic effect (PV). Today, solar PV cannot be realized on a worldwide scale because neither of the two main technologies presented today; crystalline silicon PV and thin-film PV, completely address the three critical success factors. Crystalline silicon PV possesses high efficiency using abundant materials but they are very expensive to manufacture. It wins on two of the 3 critical success factors. Thin-film PV on the other hand is cheap to manufacture but has low efficiency and relies on rare and toxic elements in its manufacture. It wins on one critical success factor. Furthermore most thin-film technologies use dangerous, toxic materials including cadmium telluride and indium among others.

Despite the challenges, the global market for solar PV technology is growing very rapidly. Some analysts predicting solar PV could contribute as much as 10-15% of our global electricity by 2050.
As we seek to move solar energy into the mainstream, we need to retain the industry’s green integrity and bypass the pitfalls of electronic waste.  Creating safe, affordable solar energy solutions requires research and development that eliminates the sector’s reliance the scarce and dangerous elements that are in limited supply, toxic, difficult to mine, or found only in select, sometimes geopolitically unfriendly regions of the world.

At Quantum Solar Power Corp., we are developing NGD™ a solar PV device which we believe will address all 3 critical success factors –high efficiency, low cost and high scalability through the use of abundant non-toxic materials. We believe Quantum will win on all three critical success factors. Quantum’s revolutionary approach to solar PV design will revolutionize the solar power market. We invite other solar technology companies and manufacturers to join our quest to create safe, affordable solar technology solutions that will literally light up the lives of people across the world.

There is no doubt that our predicted energy needs have a “sunny” future. According to the American Solar Energy Society, U.S. manufacturing of PV components — wafers, cells, and modules — has increased substantially year-over-year, with growth rates demonstrated at 97%, 81%, and 62% respectively. In 2009, the U.S. solar industry grew 36% to nearly $4 billion and supported the addition of 17,000 new jobs.

It is important for our geopolitical future that we create a clean energy economy along with a strong energy policy. A sunny future for our children demands that we continue to create green sector jobs that replace our dependency on fossil fuels with renewable energy through wind turbines, hydro-electric power and solar photovoltaic technologies that make solar energy a globally deployable, environmentally smart energy source.

About the author:
Daryl J. Ehrmantraut is Chief Executive Officer, President & Director of Quantum Solar Power Corporation, www.quantumsp.com, which is developing a “Next Generation Device” (NGD™) photovoltaic technology. Mr. Ehrmantraut lives and works in Vancouver, Canada.  He can be reached at info@quantumsp.com

New Energy Generates Electricity on Flexible Plastic Using Novel See-Through SolarWindow(TM) Coatings

New Energy Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: NENE) today announced that researchers developing its SolarWindow(TM) technology, capable of generating electricity on see-through glass, have now successfully generated electricity on flexible plastic using the Company’s ‘spray-on’ coating methods – an important technical achievement necessary for the development of electricity-generating window films.

“Today’s breakthrough supports a brand new commercial application for our core SolarWindow(TM) technology and is the direct result of numerous patent-pending methods, materials, and processes we have worked hard to invent and develop,” explained Mr. John A. Conklin, President and CEO of New Energy Technologies, Inc.

“These important technology breakthroughs have already resulted in a successful public demonstration last year of our SolarWindow(TM) application on glass, able to generate electricity while remaining see-through. Since then, New Energy’s product development group has worked aggressively to advance our SolarWindow(TM) application for glass windows towards commercial manufacturability. Concurrently, our research scientists have been working to create new and exciting SolarWindow(TM) products which reach beyond glass. The result is today’s announcement regarding our ability to generate electricity on flexible plastics.”

Scientists anticipate that commercially developed electricity-generating flexible plastic could be deployed as tinted window film, which remains see-through while generating electrical power. Traditionally, the prospect of creating see-through flexible plastic which generates electricity has been limited by numerous technical challenges, including the need for cumbersome temperature-specific, pressure sensitive, and expensive process methods for applying coatings to plastic surfaces.

New Energy researchers achieved today’s breakthrough by spraying the Company’s electricity-generating coatings onto flexible, lightweight lab-scale plastic (polyethylene terephthalate or “PET”) at room temperature and at low pressure, which may result in reduced manufacturing costs. While developing the first working PET prototype, researchers also overcame conventional issues with surface preparation, considered vital to achieving maximum strength of the coatings’ bond to the surface, and for optimizing product durability and lifespan.

Notably, researchers were able to maintain the working ‘architecture’ of New Energy’s SolarWindow(TM) while achieving flexibility. The SolarWindow(TM) architecture enables various important functions such as generating electricity on the surface of plastic and distributing electricity to the circuit.

Currently under development for eventual commercial deployment in the estimated 85 million commercial buildings and homes in America, SolarWindow(TM) is the subject of ten new patent filings and is the world’s first-of-its-kind technology capable of generating electricity on see-through glass windows.

About New Energy Technologies, Inc.
New Energy Technologies, Inc., together with its wholly owned subsidiaries, is a developer of next generation alternative and renewable energy technologies. Among the Company’s technologies under development are:

MotionPower(TM) roadway systems for generating electricity by capturing the kinetic energy produced by moving vehicles – a patent-pending technology, the subject of 18 US and International patent applications. An estimated 250 million registered vehicles drive more than six billion miles on America’s roadways, every day; and

SolarWindow(TM) technologies which enable see-through windows to generate electricity by ‘spraying’ their glass surfaces with New Energy’s electricity-generating coatings – the subject of ten patent applications. These solar coatings are less than 1/10th the thickness of ‘thin’ films and make use of the world’s smallest functional solar cells, shown to successfully produce electricity in a published peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy of the American Institute of Physics.

Through established relationships with universities, research institutions, and commercial partners, we strive to identify technologies and business opportunities on the leading edge of renewable energy innovation. Unique to our business model is the use of established research infrastructure owned by the various institutions we deal with, saving us significant capital which would otherwise be required for such costs as land and building acquisition, equipment and capital equipment purchases, and other start-up expenses. As a result, we are able to benefit from leading edge research while employing significantly less capital than conventional organizations.
For additional information, please visit: www.newenergytechnologiesinc.com

Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
No statement herein should be considered an offer or a solicitation of an offer for the purchase or sale of any securities. This release contains forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future events. Although New Energy Technologies, Inc. (the “Company” or “New Energy Technologies”) believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and the assumptions upon which they are based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations and assumptions will prove to have been correct. Forward-looking statements, which involve assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies, and expectations, are generally identifiable by use of the words “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “intend,” or “project” or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as these statements are subject to numerous factors and uncertainties, including but not limited to adverse economic conditions, intense competition, lack of meaningful research results, entry of new competitors and products, adverse federal, state and local government regulation, inadequate capital, unexpected costs and operating deficits, increases in general and administrative costs, termination of contracts or agreements, technological obsolescence of the Company’s products, technical problems with the Company’s research and products, price increases for supplies and components, litigation and administrative proceedings involving the Company, the possible acquisition of new businesses or technologies that result in operating losses or that do not perform as anticipated, unanticipated losses, the possible fluctuation and volatility of the Company’s operating results, financial condition and stock price, losses incurred in litigating and settling cases, dilution in the Company’s ownership of its business, adverse publicity and news coverage, inability to carry out research, development and commercialization plans, loss or retirement of key executives and research scientists, changes in interest rates, inflationary factors, and other specific risks. There can be no assurance that further research and development will validate and support the results of our preliminary research and studies. Further, there can be no assurance that the necessary regulatory approvals will be obtained or that New Energy Technologies, Inc. will be able to develop commercially viable products on the basis of its technologies. In addition, other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are discussed in the Company’s most recent Form 10-Q and Form 10-K filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These reports and filings may be inspected and copied at the Public Reference Room maintained by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You can obtain information about operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330. The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission also maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission at http://www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward looking statements that may be made to reflect the events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Dept of Energy Investing $50 Million to Advance Domestic Solar Manufacturing Market

DOE announced on August 2 its $50 million investment over two years for the SUNPATH program. The program is designed to help the United States reclaim its competitive edge in solar energy manufacturing. SUNPATH, which stands for Scaling Up Nascent PV AT Home, is the second Photovoltaic Manufacturing Initiative supporting DOE’s SunShot Initiative.

SUNPATH seeks to increase domestic manufacturing through investments that have sustainable, competitive cost and performance advantages. It will help companies with pilot-scale commercial production scale up their manufacturing capabilities, enabling them to overcome a funding gap that often curtails domestic business at a critical stage. By bridging this gap, SUNPATH will help ensure that innovative, low-cost solar technologies are manufactured in the United States.

The United States maintained a dominant share of the global solar market in 1995, manufacturing 43% of the world’s PV panels. It has declined steadily to just 7% by 2010. DOE is seeking applicants with industrial-scale demonstrations of PV modules, cells, or substrates that offer lower-cost solutions in line with the SunShot goal. Applications are due by October 28, 2011. See the DOE press release, the application requirements at the Funding Opportunity Exchange, and the DOE SunShot Initiative.