Team California leading the Solar Decathelon
For three weeks in October 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy will host the Solar Decathlon—a competition in which 20 teams of college and university students compete to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house. The Solar Decathlon is also an event to which the public is invited to observe the powerful combination of solar energy, energy efficiency, and the best in home design.
Exact dates of the 2009 event are:
* Oct. 8-16—Teams compete in 10 contests
* Oct. 9-13—Houses are open to the public
* Oct. 15-18—Houses are open to the public
* Oct. 19-21—Teams disassemble their houses.
The Solar Decathlon houses will be open for public tours 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Monday–Friday and 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Please note that all homes will be closed Wed., Oct. 14.
The Solar Decathlon consists of three major phases:
* Building: This is where most of the work—and the learning—happens. In addition to designing houses that use innovative, high-tech elements in ingenious ways, students have to raise funds, communicate team activities, collect supplies, and work with contractors. Although the Solar Decathlon competition receives the most attention, it’s the hard work that students put in during the building phase that makes or breaks a team.
* Moving to the Solar Village: When it’s time for the Solar Decathlon, the teams transport their houses to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and rebuild them on site.
* Competing: During the competition itself, the teams receive points for their performance in 10 contests and open their homes to the public.
Purpose
The Solar Decathlon brings attention to one of the biggest challenges we face—an ever-increasing need for energy. As an internationally recognized event, it offers powerful solutions—using energy more efficiently and using energy from renewable sources.
The Solar Decathlon has several goals:
1. To educate the student participants—the “Decathletes”—about the benefits of energy efficiency, renewable energy and green building technologies. As the next generation of engineers, architects, builders, and communicators, the Decathletes will be able to use this knowledge in their studies and their future careers.
2. To raise awareness among the general public about renewable energy and energy efficiency, and how solar energy technologies can reduce energy usage.
3. To help solar energy technologies enter the marketplace faster. This competition encourages the research and development of energy efficiency and energy production technologies.
4. To foster collaboration among students from different academic disciplines—including engineering and architecture students, who rarely work together until they enter the workplace.
5. To promote an integrated or “whole building design” approach to new construction. This approach differs from the traditional design/build process because the design team considers the interactions of all building components and systems to create a more comfortable building, save energy, and reduce environmental impact.
6. To demonstrate to the public the potential of Zero Energy Homes, which produce as much energy from renewable sources, such as the sun and wind, as they consume. Even though the home might be connected to a utility grid, it has net zero energy consumption from the utility provider.
World’s largest grassroots solar event is coming to town
14th annual National Solar Tour to ramp up on October 3, 2009
highlighting new ways to save money on energy bills
WHO: Coordinated nationally by the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society in collaboration with nearly two hundred local environmental and energy groups.
WHAT: More than 150,000 will attend the ASES National Solar Tour to learn how to slash monthly utility bills and go green. The general public is invited to attend open-house tours of solar powered and energy efficient homes in some 3,000 communities in 48 states across the U.S. This is the world’s largest grassroots solar event. Find a solar tour near you: www.NationalSolarTour.org
WHEN: Saturday, October 3, 2009 (in most locations, check listings)
WHERE: In 3,000 neighborhoods in 48 states across the U.S.
WHY: With solar costs 30-40% lower than just a year ago and incentives now covering 1/3 to 2/3 the costs, more families and businesses are going green to save money during tight economic times. The ASES National Solar Tour features property-owners who open their doors to neighbors to share how they are using the latest solar & energy efficient technologies to drastically reduce monthly energy bills, reduce harmful carbon emissions, and enjoy tax credits and cash incentives as they improve their property values.
WEBSITE: www.NationalSolarTour.org
According to survey results from last year’s National Solar Tour, 76% of participants said they are very likely to invest in solar or energy efficient technology after the Tour, compared to less than 50% before the Tour. A stunning 74% of participants indicated that they had never visited a solar or green-built home prior to this event. Last year’s National Solar Tour attracted close to 140,000 people.
Dye-sensitized Solar Cells To Power Air Force Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
From ScienceDaily.com
Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are expected to power Air Force unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the future because they are an optimum energy harvesting source that may lead to longer flight times without refueling.
The University of Washington’s Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) project team, with lead researcher Dr. Minoru Taya is working on airborne solar cells by using a flexible film and a thin glass coating with transparent conductive electrodes. He has found that DSSCs made from organic materials, which use (dyes) and moth-eye film, are able to catch photons and convert them into synthesized electrons that can harvest high photon energy.
A few years ago the team mounted dye-sensitized solar cells on the wings of a toy airplane. The propeller was effectively powered, but the plane was not able to become airborne because the glass based solar cells they were using were too heavy. Upon experimentation, they decided to use film battery technology, which worked and in fact, enabled the plane to fly.
“These kinds of solar cells have more specific power convergence efficiency (PCE), very clean energy and easy scalability to a larger skin area of the craft, as well as, low-temperature processing, which leads to lower costs overall,” said Taya.
The team is currently working on DSSCs with higher PCEs using bioinspired dyes, which are installed in the wings of the UAV (airborne energy harvesters).
“Any airborne energy harvester must satisfy additional requirements, like weight and durability in airborne environments. If those are met, then there may even be longer UAV flight times,” said Taya.
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PowerSat Files Patent That Accelerates Viability Of Space Solar Power (SSP) Satellite Systems
From businesswire.com
PowerSat Corporation (www.powersat.com), a pioneer in safe and reliable energy generation from space, today announced the filing of U.S. Provisional Patent No. 61/177,565 or “SPACE-BASED POWER SYSTEMS AND METHODS.” The patent includes two technologies, BrightStar and Solar Powered Orbital Transfer (SPOT), which enable the reduction of launch and operation costs by roughly $1 billion for a 2,500 megawatt (MW) power station.
“This patent filing is a watershed moment not only for PowerSat but for a renewables industry that, until now, could neither compete economically nor generate power at the base load scale of oil or coal,” said PowerSat CEO William Maness. “Today, the convergence of technology and energy demand, combined with the political will to wean us off of fossil fuels, enables space solar power (SSP) to fill a widening clean energy supply gap.”
SSP is a clean, viable solution to our world’s growing energy problems. Not limited by weather or geography, SSP solves the intermittency problems of earth-based renewables by providing a reliable and flexible energy source that is available 24/7. The underlying technology components are proven and systems will be deployable within a decade. Solar energy is captured via solar power satellites (known as powersats) and transmitted wirelessly to receiving stations at various points around the globe. Thousands of megawatts can be harnessed and shifted between receiving stations thousands of miles from each other—all in a matter of seconds.
PowerSat Corporation’s first patented technology, BrightStar, allows individual powersats to form a wireless power transmission beam without being physically connected to each other. This “electronic coupling,” conceptually similar to cloud computing, effectively eliminates the need to handle large (gigawatt) levels of power in a single spacecraft. Because of BrightStar, one transmission beam may now come from hundreds of smaller powersats. Another advantage of Brightstar is increased reliability. If any of the individual component satellites fail they can be easily replaced without significantly affecting the performance of the system, thus establishing much greater reliability.
The other technology being patented by PowerSat, Solar Power Orbital Transfer (SPOT) propels a spacecraft to an optimal, Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) using electronic thrusters that are powered by the same solar array that is eventually used for wireless power transmission. Until now, all satellites have had to use chemical propulsion or a chemically fueled “space tug” to move from Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is 300-1,000 miles in altitude to GEO, which is 22,236 miles in altitude.
SPOT technology also decreases the weight of a powersat by 67%, dramatically reducing launch costs, and enabling PowerSat modules to fly on rockets to LEO, deploy their solar powered electronic thrusters and then fly themselves out to GEO. GEO, the orbit for most communications satellites, is optimal because it allows a powersat to harvest the sun’s energy continuously.
Utilities move on distributed solar power plants
by Martin LaMonica, cnet.com
Some utilities are thinking small when it comes to solar power.
Utility Arizona Public Service on Monday submitted a proposal to install and own solar power systems on customers’ rooftops in Flagstaff. Customers will pay today’s electricity and hot water heating rates for the energy those systems produce over a 20-year period.
Duke Energy last Thursday gained approval for a $50 million project in North Carolina with a similar model. The utility will install and own solar electric panels at 100 to 400 locations and pay a rental fee to property owners.
By owning the systems and the power produced, the utilities can treat the distributed solar resources as a power plant that they can control.
The electricity production of solar panels tends to coincide with peak times of electricity demand. Instead of building a new power plant, or turning on costly and polluting auxiliary plants, utilities can partially meet peak load with the distributed solar systems.
Customers, meanwhile, can get solar energy systems without having to pay the large upfront cost, something that a number of solar start-ups are also doing with varied financing options.
“The project eliminates upfront costs of more than $10,000 to each customer, which we know from our experience has been a major deterrent to distributed solar systems here and elsewhere,” Arizona Public Service CEO Don Brandt said in a statement. “We want to make solar energy affordable to everyone.”
The $14.7 million pilot, called Community Power Project, is expected to generate 1.5 megawatts from 200 to 300 participants in Flagstaff. The plan also calls for about 50 solar hot water systems to be installed.
The electricity from the panels will be fed directly into the grid and be part of the utility’s smart-grid technology program to efficiently manage the flow of energy across the grid. Arizona Public Service already has a few utility-scale solar power plants in the state, but distributed solar power could help the utility meet state mandates for renewable energy production, it said.
The solar panels from Duke’s program, which had been scaled back from the initial $100 million proposal, are expected to collectively generate enough electricity to supply 1,300 homes. In a statement, Duke CEO James Rogers said that it’s part of the utility’s long-term strategy to diversity its power generation.
“We believe the future is a low-carbon world. The 21st century mission of our company is to decarbonize our energy supply and provide universal access to energy efficiency,” Rogers told shareholders in a meeting last week.
Minnesota Students Building House Powered Entirely by Sun
From foxnews.com
After 15 months of planning, University of Minnesota students are finally getting to fire up their drills and saws to begin construction on a fully functioning house powered exclusively by the sun.
The students are members of the University’s solar decathlon team, which will be taking its completed house to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in October to compete against 19 other schools in a biennial national competition.
The Solar Decathlon competition, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, will last three weeks and will judge teams based on all aspects of their house, from energy efficiency to interior design.
The University’s solar decathlon team started preparing its proposal for the competition in the fall of 2007, Ann Johnson, project manager and director of the construction management program, said.
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Xcel Energy and SunPower Sign 17MW Contract
From SolarBuzz.com
Xcel Energy and SunPower Corporation have signed an agreement to build a 17-megawatt AC photovoltaic solar power plant in Colorado’s Alamosa County.
When completed at the end of 2010, the power plant will be the second-largest high-efficiency solar PV power plant in North America. It is expected to create approximately 200 jobs during construction.
“We believe that solar power generation will play an increasingly vital role in our efforts to meet the wishes of our Colorado customers for more renewable, clean energy sources,” said Tim Taylor, president and CEO for Public Service Co. of Colorado, an Xcel Energy company. “SunPower’s experienced approach to solar power plant design and construction will allow us to quickly complete this important project.”
The plant will use SunPower® Tracker systems, which generate up to 30 percent more energy per land area than conventional systems and reduce land-use requirements.
Xcel Energy is ranked as the fifth-largest utility provider of solar power in the nation. In Colorado, the company has acquired more than 25 megawatts of on-site solar generation from homes and businesses participating in Xcel’s Solar*Rewards rebate program. In addition, the company buys power from an 8.2-megawatt solar farm adjacent to where the new facility will be built.
