3-D design from MIT team increases solar panel efficiency

Innovative 3-D design from an MIT team can more than double the solar power generated from solar panels in a given area. For more info see MIT News Release.

The Future of Solar Energy Technology

Current solar energy technology employs photovoltaic (PV) cells to generate electrical power by converting solar radiation into electricity. The cells are made from semiconductor-grade crystalline-silicon wafers, which are then packaged and assembled into solar panels.

Silicon is a natural element however high-grade silicon is expensive to produce. It is also in such high demand from the computer chip industry that prices have soared in recent years.

For solar energy to enjoy world-wide acceptance as an energy resource, the cost to produce it must fall in line with competitive resources such as coal and natural gas. In that regard the solar energy industry is constantly searching for new materials that are more efficient and cheaper to produce than silicon.

Other technologies that are being explored for the future of solar power include the following:

1) Thin Film Solar Cells (TFSC)
Though not as efficient as conventional PV cells, thin film solar cells use about 99% less silicon in their construction, which makes them more affordable to produce. TFSCs also use alternative photovoltaic materials such as Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) and Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS). CIGS currently holds the record for thin-film solar efficiency at 17.4%.

A new material for TFSC is Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC) also knows as a Grätzel cell, named after its inventor, Michael Grätzel. DSSCs are notable for their low cost material, low cost processing and that they can be manufactured into flexible sheets.

2) Colloidal Quantum Dots (CQD)
CQD is an emerging field in solar cell research. Colloidal refers to elements in liquid suspension. Quantum dots are nanoparticles of semiconductor material.
Because of their small size CQDs can be painted or sprayed onto flexible surfaces such as plastic. They are less expensive to produce and more durable than silicon-based cells.

3) Chlorosomes
Chlorosomes are antenna-like structures found in the living cells of green sulfur bacteria. They are among the most efficient light-harvesting antenna complexes found in nature. Their ability to capture light in very low-light situations have researchers on a path of developing photosynthetic proteins for use in biologically inspired solar cells. These bio-inspired solar cells promote the idea of making solar cells that closely simulate nature, specifically, photosynthesis. They are also potentially more affordable and more environmentally friendly than existing silicon-based solar cells.

Whichever technology wins out in the end they all will aid in the advancement of this next generation of solar energy collectors. The exciting research being done today is what drives the solar energy industry into the future, and what a bright future it is.

Borrego Solar Completes 3.4 MW Solar Power Installation at Edwards Air Force Base

© 2012 Borrego Solar Systems, Inc.

SAN DIEGO, Calif.–February 28, 2012—Borrego Solar Systems, Inc., a leading designer, installer and financier of grid-tied government solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, today announced the completion of a 3.4 megawatt (MW) solar power installation at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California. Comprised of 3 ground-mounted, single-axis tracking solar farms, the system is the largest military project completed by Borrego Solar to date, and demonstrates the value of the company’s end-to-end solar power installation services for military facilities.

The system was financed via Borrego Solar’s in-house Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Per the agreement, Borrego Solar financed, designed and installed the system at no upfront cost to Edwards Air Force Base. Borrego Solar will sell energy back to Edwards Air Force Base at an economical and fixed rate, offsetting an average of 6 percent of the energy consumption across the three facilities.

“As we work to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, solar energy is one of the most reliable and cost-effective tools available to us,” said Ms Amy Frost, Chief of the Civil Engineer Asset Management Branch for Edwards Air Force Base. “Financing large-scale projects can be tough in this economic climate, so a PPA made a lot of sense for us, as it eliminated the need for upfront investment and long term maintenance. The deal allowed us to quickly implement solar on our facility and deliver immediate operational savings.”

Scaling up efforts such as this to promote energy security, the Department of the Army recently established the Energy Initiatives Task Force (EITF) to oversee the Army’s goal of transitioning to 25 percent renewable energy use by 2025. Despite the Army’s goals, financing solar projects can still be a challenge. By entering into a PPA with Borrego Solar, military facility managers can move solar projects forward, and enjoy many of the benefits of solar energy while investing zero upfront capital costs.

“We are proud to have completed this project as it is a great example of how public-private partnerships can succeed and allow the development and installation of large-scale solar energy systems on government property,” said Mike Hall, CEO of Borrego Solar. “Edwards Air Force Base should be applauded for making renewable energy a priority at their facility. We look forward to continuing our work with military facility managers to help them take full advantage of the financial benefits that come from using solar to generate clean and sustainable energy, and local jobs.”

Borrego Solar continues to deliver on its mission to help federal organizations go solar. Last week, the company was awarded a contract by the General Services Administration (GSA), certifying it to provide solar installation services to federal agencies. Edwards Air Force Base is the largest project in Borrego Solar’s growing military portfolio to date. The company completed a nearly one MW project in 2010 at the Point Loma Navy Base in San Diego Bay.

World’s Largest Concentrating Solar Power Plant Hits Milestone

Solar Electric Light Fund Launches “Energy Is A Human Right” Campaign

The Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit working to eliminate energy poverty through the use of solar power, today announced that it is launching “Energy is a Human Right,” a campaign to provide a voice to the nearly 1.5 billion people around the world living without access to electricity and other forms of modern energy. It is also calling upon the international development community and general public to join the campaign by visiting www.EnergyIsAHumanRight.com to show their support for those living in energy poverty, and to learn how they can help provide energy access to assist in their economic, education, health and agricultural development.

“For the last 15 years, SELF has always believed and said that energy is essential for life,” says Bob Freling, Executive Director, SELF. “Access to energy is foundational to achieving a broad range of basic human rights and all of the Millennium Development Goals. Without it, life is very, very difficult as I’m sure 1.5 billion people can attest to.”

Through its Whole Village development model, SELF works hand-in-hand with communities to create and implement innovative solar energy solutions to improve people’s health and education, ensure food and water security, and spur economic development. Recently, it made a commitment to the United Nation’s Sustainable Energy for All Initiative to continue scaling up this model in Benin, West Africa by installing solar systems to power water systems, schools, health clinics, community centers, and street and household lighting systems. Mr. Freling is also co-chairing the initiative’s Working Group on Energy and Health, which will be examining ways to provide access to renewable energy sources for hospitals and health care clinics to support medical services.

“We proudly support the U.N. initiative and look forward to closely working with them to provide universal access to energy to those in need,” says Freling. “Our hope in launching this human rights campaign is to call attention to the critical role energy can play in helping people lift themselves out of poverty and create a better life.”

About SELF
The Solar Electric Light Fund is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit whose mission is to implement solar energy solutions in developing countries to assist rural communities with economic, education, health and agricultural development.  Its “Whole Village” development model takes an innovative approach in using integrated solar systems to improve the lives of the 1.5 billion people living in energy poverty throughout the world. Since 1990, SELF has completed projects in more than 20 countries, pioneering unique applications of solar power for drip irrigation in Benin, health care in Haiti, telemedicine in the Amazon rainforest, online learning in South Africa, and microenterprise development in Nigeria. Connect with SELF on the web at www.SELF.org; on Twitter @solarfund; and at www.Facebook.com/solarelectriclightfund.

Solar Power Goes Viral

By John Rennie

Catching a nasty virus certainly isn’t on anyone’s holiday wish list, but for solar power it might be just what the doctor ordered.

With the help of a genetically modified virus, materials researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found a way to boost the efficiency of one type of thin-film photovoltaic cell by 30 percent.

For years, engineers have experimented with a variety of unique collection material for solar cells, including single-walled carbon nanotubes: tiny hollow cylinders only a few billionths of a meter wide but with diamond-like strength. These carbon nanotubes, however, have been unproductive.

Part of the problem, scientists suspected, was that the processes for making nanotubes yield mixtures with different electronic properties—some carbon nanotubes are semiconductors, some are metallic.

A genetically engineered virus called M13 can be used to help rearrange molecules—for example, to make batteries more efficient.

But in the June 2011 issue of Nature Nanotechnology, Angela M. Belcher’s Biomolecular Materials Group at MIT announced an intriguing solution.

INNOVATION OUTBREAK
Over the past decade, Belcher’s laboratory has been exploring how viruses—embodiments of nature’s own nanotechnology—can solve problems in materials science and microelectronics.

Previously, the group has shown that a genetically engineered virus called M13 can be used to help rearrange molecules—for example, to make batteries more efficient.

Hoping to solve the nanotube challenge, members of Belcher’s lab altered M13 so that pieces of proteins, or peptides, on its surface could bind to carbon nanotubes.

By grabbing onto the nanotubes, the viruses stopped them from clumping, which allowed scientists to verify that the difference in electronic properties alone affected the nanotubes’ function. Semiconducting ones raised efficiency, whereas metallic ones degraded it.

PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS FOR THE FUTURE
The MIT group discovered that using the viruses with semiconducting nanotubes improved the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells by almost a third, from eight percent to 10.6 percent. That improvement isn’t gigantic in absolute terms, but it helps to make this variety of thin-film cell significantly more practical.

Because the virus-nanotube complexes can be treated simply as an additive to the normal solar-cell fabrication process, incorporating them into manufacturing should be relatively easy.

The researchers believe that this viral technique could be adapted to work with other types of solar cells. Dang, a PhD candidate in the lab, says that since submitting the Nature Nanotechnology paper for publication he has started a project to adapt the virus-nanotube technique for use in quantum dot solar cells and his colleagues have done the same with organic dye cells.

Moreover, according to Dang, several companies have already contacted them about acquiring the virus-nanotube technology. Because the virus-nanotube complexes can be treated simply as an additive to the normal solar-cell fabrication process, incorporating them into manufacturing should be relatively easy, he says.

AUTHOR BIO:
John Rennie is a science writer, editor and lecturer based in New York City. Between 2004 and 2009, he served as editor in chief of Scientific American. His writing has appeared in publications including The Economist, The New York Times and IEEE Spectrum. Since 2009, he has been an adjunct instructor in the graduate Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University. Currently, Rennie writes “The Gleaming Retort” for the PLoS Blogs science blogging network. He has been a frequent guest on television and radio programs appearing on PBS, NPR, the History Channel and Discovery.

This story was orginally published on ecomagination .

Principal Solar, Inc. (PSWW) Launches World’s First Solar Energy Library

Principal Solar, Inc (PSI; OTC Pink: PSWW), a publicly traded renewable energy holding company which concentrates its resources on rapidly advancing the inevitable, worldwide utilization of solar power through a unique roll-up strategy, today launched the Definitive Solar Library, the world’s first online reference center dedicated exclusively to solar energy.

“Efforts to capture the power of the sun at a reasonable cost continue to evolve, positioning solar energy as one of the hottest topics around the world and creating the need for straightforward information and perspectives that improve upon the renewable energy exchange of ideas,” says Michael Gorton, CEO and president of Principal Solar, Inc. “By defining the issues, collecting and distributing information, the Definitive Solar Library will serve as a valuable educational outpost for leaders of government, business and academia. It will also be accessible to consumers who want to join the dialogue.”

In conjunction with launch of the Library, Principal Solar today released two white papers:

• “Under the Sun: Putting Environmental and Regulatory Issues to Work,” co-authored by Gorton and Scott D. Deatherage, partner, Patton Boggs, guides investors through the technical, legal and environmental issues required for making solar projects work successfully.

• “Interfacing with the Electrical Grid,” co-authored by Ken Allen, chief operating officer, Principal Solar, and Ron Seidel, PE, board of directors, Principal Solar, outlines the interconnection of power sources with renewable generation and the roles of federal, regional and state regulatory agencies in the processes.

“Because more entities have become aware of solar energy and its many attributes, timing for this launch is ideal,” said Gorton. “We expect the Library to improve upon existing practices and deliver additional solutions that advance significant social and economic value to communities, governments and individuals worldwide.”

About Principal Solar
Principal Solar, Inc (PSI; OTC Pink: PSWW), is a publicly traded renewable energy holding company which concentrates its resources on the acquisition, finance, development and management of solar power companies to rapidly advance the inevitable utilization of solar power. The company is building the world’s first online library dedicated exclusively to the field of solar energy – a 24-hour gateway to current information, perspectives and thought-leadership: www.definitivesolarlibrary.com. Visit www.PrincipalSolar.com.