Solar Power System
December 5, 2011
SolarStrong Gets Green Light
What looked like a no-go solar project is now back on with a private equity loan. This should be just the boost the flailing industry needs as Solar City will place power systems on 120,000 homes on military bases. They got the funding for the project dubbed SolarStrong from Bank of America Merrill Lynch after failing to acquire a loan from the DOA, partially due to stricter restrictions placed post Solyndra. Although the total amount was lessened by 40,000 homes, the project will create at least 300 megawatts of power and thousands of jobs during installation.
via Solar City
November 7, 2011
GE Develops Better Solar System
GE has built a better mousetrap solar system that they claim reduces the $6.50 per watt cost to a mere $3.00. Charlie Korman of the NY Global Research Center says that solar panel arrays are currently high-voltage systems that involve using equipment to switch it to a 120 volt current. Their solution is to create panels with socket ready AC current. This means the system needs only a standard installation kit, takes half a day to construct (as opposed to 2 days) and uses 60% fewer components.
A prototype has been constructed by the team and GE plans to build a new plant near Denver, CO to manufacture the new panels. This means that more jobs will open up for those who specialize in research and those seeking manufacturing employment. Kudos to GE for investing in the clean energy despite setbacks and bankruptcies of other solar companies.
(Thanks, Amber)
Via GE
August 8, 2011
Denver International Airport Goes Solar
Constellation Energy took on the Denver International Airport to make the facility the largest in the US to support solar power. The total amount is 8 megawatts supplied by 19,000 photovoltaic panels which will release more than 5,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. The entire project encompasses 7 acres and cost a cool 13 million to complete. Constellation has been busy of late, having gotten contracts to build systems for GM in Baltimore, a Toys 'R Us distribution center in Flanders, NJ and the Sacramento Municipal Utility Distrct.
(Thanks, Caren)
Via Constellation
May 16, 2011
TRU Distribution Center Gets Huge Solar System
Toys 'R Us claims that it will soon have the largest solar system in North America. Located atop their distribution center in Flanders, NJ, the roof spans about 32 acres and about 20 of those will be covered in panels. The Constellation Energy project should be completed by the end of summer and will provide about 72% of the building's electricity.
Via Bloomberg
April 18, 2011
Mini Cooper Powers Up From Home Solar System
Talk about being creative. Tom Moloughney of Chester, NJ actually powers up his all-electric Mini Cooper via his residential solar system. He drives 62 miles round trip to his restaurant Nauna's Bella Casa in Montclair and figures that he saves about $5,000 a year. Moloughney, concerned about our foreign oil dependence, was allowed to participate in a BMW pilot program that included 612 Mini Es.
After he realized that the electricity he used came from coal and gas-fired power plants, as well as from nuclear sources, he came up with this solution. By the way, his license plate reads "EF-OPEC." Check out his journey via the link.
(Good job, Tom and thanks for the tip, Jason.)
Via Tom Moloughney
March 28, 2011
Willis Tower Houses Solar Farm
What used to be the Sears Tower has gone solar, at least the southern side of the 56th floor. The Willis Tower has photovoltaic glass units and has become a 2-MW solar farm, the result being a cooler lit environment and more effective power system. Pythagoras Solar is in charge of the project and hopes that this building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) solution will be an example to other buildings to get with the green plan.
Via Pythagoras
January 31, 2011
Boston Power Assists Solar WorldGSM
Vihaan Networks Ltd. and Boston Power are working together on VNL WorldGSM, a communication service that will soon be able to still work without its solar power source. Used in rural markets in places such as India, the microtelecom system is a complete solar powered GSM and broadband system. VNL's technology will use B-P's lithium-ion technology to back up storage on devices such as notebook batteries. This idea should become almost fully functional later this year.
Via Morningstar
January 24, 2011
Solar3D Develops More Efficient System
Solar3D is simply what its title implies. Because up to 30% of incident sunlight can bounce off regular solar cells, this technology traps the sun in micro-photovoltaic structures that collect photons that are converted into electrons. The system uses light management techniques currently utilized in fiber optics. Not only can this be used in have many different applications, the company claims that it will make solar power more efficient and affordable.
(Thanks, Monica and Jennifer)
Via Solar3D
December 20, 2010
DOD to Test Solar Arrays
Skyline Solar is installing solar arrays for the Department of Defense on two bases in the US. The testing is meant for seeing if the military can use the technology in other countries to cut back on fuel for generators and vehicles. The arrays will produce about 436 mega hours of energy yearly. Since your average home consumes about 11 mh yearly, this is quite an ambitious experiment. We don't care who is testing, we are just happy that another organization has jumped on the solar bandwagon.
Via cnet
July 12, 2010
DOE To Fund Solar Plants
As part of the Recovery Act, President Obama announced that the DOE is loaning out $2 billion to build solar energy plants. Abengoa Solar will be building one that, when completed in 2013, will power up 70,000 homes. The Concentrated Solar Plant (CSP) will also store part of the energy, a first for the US.
Abound Solar Manufacturing will get $400 million to build plants in Colorado and Indiana. Aside from the obvious clean energy benefit, the plants will create about 1,500 permanent jobs and 2,000 for construction.
Via White House
July 9, 2010
Sun Dog Solar Mobile Relief for Haiti
There has been so much bad news of late that it is nice to hear something good is headed to Haiti. Sun Dog Solar, located in Chatham, NY, has built a mobile relief station built out of an old shipping container. The 20 ft. box is wired to solar panels to bring free energy for cooking and boiling water to a village named Merger, right outside Port au prince.
The company will also be donating wheelchairs, shoes, clothing, tents, dry food and other necessities. They would also like to build solar ovens and panels for the country that could still use an assist. Contact Sun Dog Solar if you would like to help the cause.
Via WMAC
July 5, 2010
Eltek Valere Releases Solar Inverters
Eltek Valere, a company already involved in solar products, recently debuted their Theia HE-T line of isolated inverters. Available for both commercial and residential applications, they will work with crystalline and thin-film panels and maximize power. EV promisies 97% efficiency, so contact them for more information and price. Shown here is their Theia TX, a 3-phase central inverter with transformer.
(Thanks, David)
Via EV
June 30, 2010
Extech Goes Green With Solar Roof
Newark, New Jersey's Extech Building Materials is now home to a solar PV roof system. It consists of 1,465 Solyndra panels that produce about 313,400 kWh of electricity and eliminate more than 429,358 pounds of CO2 emissions per year. It is expected that it will handle about 80% of the 47,775 sq. ft. building's energy load. That is the energy equivalent of 45 homes per year.
(Thanks, Brian)
Via Extech Building Materials
June 21, 2010
Huge CSP to Be Built in Middle East
The Middle East's largest concentrated solar power plant is about to be built. When completed in 2012, it will consist of 6,300,000 sq. ft. of parabolic collectors, span 741 acres of desert and produce enough electricity to power 62,000 homes. Named Shams 1, Masdar is partnering with Total and Abengoa Solar to build the CSP that will displace 175,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, which is equivalent to planting 1.5 million trees. The plant is part of Abu Dhabi's plan to reach 7% renewable energy generation by 2012.
Via Masdar
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