Archives: Solar Energy

Combining social responsibility with solar energy the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) has just completed the largest photovoltaic installation at a clinic in Africa. The new 10kw photovoltaic system provides 90-percent of the electricity needed at the Village Health Works (VHW) clinic in Kigutu, Burundi. Ersol Solar Energy AG (Ersol) donated 98 panels of 130 • Read More »

Once the cost of solar energy reaches the same price as electricity from the grid, then the state of “grid parity” will exist. California is close to grid parity now as it is one of the sunniest states with some of the highest utility bills. At this point consumers may see the value of installing • Read More »

According to Dutch researchers chlorosomes filled with chlorophyll in green bacteria may hold the secrets to more efficient solar technology. In plants, small antenna can hold up to 250,000 chlorophyll molecules that absorb sunlight. The sunlight is then converted into chemical energy. The Dutch scientists are using concentric nanotubes to replicate the structure of plants • Read More »

New solar etching technology being developed by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology is both more efficient in absorbing light rays and self-cleaning. Chemical etching of solar panel surfaces at the micron and nanoscale helps to trap light in 3-dimensional structures. The efficiency of the solar cells is increased by as much as two • Read More »

About a year ago, I talked about Solar Roadways and how they were going to revolutionize not only the solar panel industry but the road construction industry as well. The idea behind having solar roadways is to replace a portion of our existing 25,000 square miles of existing pavement with tough and efficient photovoltaic panels. • Read More »

Okay, so you’ve gone to the time, trouble and expense to install solar panels upon your home in order to save money on your electric bills and help save the environment as well. Now that you’ve done your part, your work is finished right? Well, no, like all devices solar panels have to be maintained. • Read More »

Two companies in China have announced that they intend to build a 1 GW solar power plant in the northwest region. Initially the solar farm will be built as a 30 megawatt station with an initial investment of $150 million. The Chinese solar panels will combine crystalline silicon-based and thin film technology. This will rival • Read More »

The holidays would not be complete with an article about solar powered Christmas trees. Last year I was writing about LED Christmas lights saving energy on trees and in 2006 California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was lighting up a fuel cell Christmas tree in Sacramento. But, this year several locations have gone the solar tree route. • Read More »

Greenfield Solar has developed a small 1.5 Kw power plant that can be assembled by two people in half a day using regular tools. The kicker is that their $6,000 unit has the output of about $4 per watt compared to the industry norm, which is currently about $8 per watt. The concentrating solar power • Read More »

Researchers at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana are patting themselves on the back for coming up with a new printing-like process to put ultra-thin solar panels in flexible plastic or fabric. The solar panels can be printed at 1/10th the size of a human hair, yet yielding strength and flexibility. In fact, the solar • Read More »