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We have all seen calculators with solar cells, that enable the device to work without any batteries, and can be used for unlimited time period as long as there’s enough light.

These solar cells that are present in calculators and many other devices are also called photovoltaic (PV) cells. As the name depicts, these cells have the capability of converting sunlight directly into electricity.

A group of cells can also be connected together electrically, fitted into a frame to form a solar panel. Moreover, these solar panels can be combined together to form larger solar arrays, similar to the ones operating at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.

Photovoltaic cells are made up of special material called semiconductors such as silicon, which is currently used most commonly.

When light falls on to the cell, a certain amount of the light is absorbed by the semiconductor material. The energy of the absorbed light is then transferred to the semiconductor. The energy is used to loosen up the electrons, allowing them to flow freely, and thus create electricity.

PV cells also have one or more electric fields that force electrons freed by light absorption to flow in a certain direction making a current. Thus by inserting metal contacts on the top and bottom of the PV cell, we can direct the current for some external use. This current, combined together with the cell’s voltage due to the built-in electric fields, defines the power that the solar cell can produce.

This is the basic process through which photovoltaic cells work, but clearly there’s much more to it, which will be explained in the proceeding articles.

Technorati Tags: Photovoltaic,panel,cell,energy,voltage,Cells,batteries,panels,semiconductor,electrons

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Nanoscience is quite fascinated with the process of photosynthesis. They want to duplicate this process exhibited by green plants and utilize the solar power for energy use. Till now power generating solar panels are not in a position to replace the fossil fuels. They produce little amount of energy and quite expensive also. Generation [...]
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THE WRITING PROCESS LAMINATED

Last week, Big Solar exercised some of its growing clout by killing an anti-solar bill in the Arizona legislature. Here’s what happened:  state Republican senator Debbie Lasko introduced a bill that would have gutted Arizona’s renewable portfolio standard as we know it. Thankfully, a threat by Chinese solar giant Suntech Power Holdings to withdraw plans to put its first U.S. manufacturing plant in Arizona rallied enough pressure to remove the bill from the floor. It was of great relief to solar proponents in the state, but unfortunately, Lasko’s H.B. 2701 was not the only threat to Arizona’s fledgling solar industry.

Republican Representative Carl Seel has introduced a bill that makes Lesko’s look tame in comparison. His legislation would remove the right of the Arizona Corporate Commission – the state board that regulates utilities – to mandate renewable energy standards at all. Arizona passed their RES in 2006, requiring power providers to get 15 percent of their energy from renewable resources by 2025, including a certain percentage from solar photovoltaics.

The Goldwater Institute, a very conservative thinktank named after infamous conservative Barry Goldwater, tried to sue the state, claiming that it was unconstitutional to force any such mandates or regulations on private utilities (unless, it seems, those regulations or incentives promote nuclear, coal or natural gas power plants). Goldwater Institute lost that lawsuit, but has responded by facilitating Representative Seel’s H.B. 2381 that would render the Arizona Supreme Court’s decision moot.

Furthermore, Arizona’s republican governor, who reportedly helped kill Lesko’s bill after industry pressure mounted, also killed a regional cap-and-trade program that Arizona pioneered to put a price on carbon-emitting energy sources.

The recent wave of attacks on solar power in Arizona is troubling for a state that has some of the best solar potential in the world. There are states where one could argue that solar power is not the best renewable option, like the windy Dakotas or the geothermal-laden Northwest, but Arizona is practically made of sunshine. Why any group or lawmaker would want to kill solar power in that state is beyond this writer.

But H.B. 2701 had 51 co-sponsors, and green-leaning governor Janet Napolitano is gone. While Suntech Power Holdings and the industry managed to kill Debbie Lesko’s anti-solar bill, a huge victory among recent attacks, and may very well succeed in killing Carl Seel’s anti-RPS bill, the fact that such contention exists in Arizona may scare off potential solar industry additions to the state. Several states are working to attract green tech industries and the market is highly competitive.

However the fate of Arizona’s solar industry is decided, it will likely be decided soon, as Suntech’s potential industry followers are unlikely to wait around for long while California, Oregon, Michigan, Colorado and other states wait with open arms and less uncertainty.

Photo Credit: Interesting Energy Facts & CleanMPG

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The ins and outs of tomorrow’s energy grid will be tested on an unprecedented scale in Chicago. Local utility ComEd, a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation, will use $5 million in Recovery Act funding to institute the program, which will initially outfit 8,000 homes with advanced smart meters in order to test how well consumers manage their energy consumption when monitoring and programming are available. The project will also include outfitting 100 homes with distributed solar power systems, creating “mini-utilities” through which ComEd can glimpse the smart home of the future.

Eventually, the project will extend to cover 131,000 Chicago homes. The first $8,000 will test a small range of smart meters for comparative purposes. 3,100 customers will receive a basic energy use display meter, 1,500 will get a touch-screen version that allows for electricity monitoring and internet access, and 400 will also receive programmable thermostats that allow remote control of heating and cooling systems.

The program will also enact an unprecedented pricing program in which pilot participants will be offered a six-tiered pricing approach.

The 6 options are widely accessible. They are:

• Regular current flat rates
• Rising rates based on higher-than-average consumption
• Hourly rates based on day-ahead wholesale rates
• Rising rates based on peak demand
• Rebate for customers that reduce consumption during peak demand
• Time-of-use pricing in which costs differ between peak and non-peak loading periods

The goal is to teach homeowners how to be more efficient consumers of energy, as well as find out which smart grid products are most efficient at helping to make that happen. America’s electric grid is aging and, quite frankly, dumb. Half the battle in easing the pressure on our unkempt, deregulated grid is to reduce peak demand while increasing the use of distributed renewable energy. Moreover, a key ingredient in any smart grid is a smart consumer, a fact that ComEd and the feds’ joint venture in Chicago will hopefully illustrate in the real world  — and in real time.

Sources: CleanTechnica, Cooler Planet

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Best Rank, Inc. plunges into the renewable energy industry, seeing numerous opportunities to help companies with cost-effective, online marketing techniques, such as SEO/SEM, social media channels, web design, etc.

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US Renewables Group (USRG) announced the formation of Westerly Wind LLC, a new company that plans to provide development capital and expertise to wind developers seeking to advance projects in the current difficult financial climate.

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SolarWorld has climbed on-board the new venture investment called Qatar Solar Technologies.  Headquartered in Qatar, this will be the first production facility for polysilicon technologies on the Arabian Peninsula.  The plant will have an annual production capacity of around 3,600 tons of high-purity polysilicon during its first stage in 2012.

This investment stems from a recent PV push into the Middle East and North African (MENA) continent, areas, of course, with abundant sunshine.  Some governments and investors have begun to invest heavily in these regions, hoping to cash in on the future potential for solar harvesting.

Why the Middle East and North African Continent?

While many of us are still struggling to pay bills, let alone think of investing, this is an area of the globe with plenty of prime land for solar projects, and they are certainly beginning to take shape.  Companies investing in the Middle East are poised to continue to grow, or at least have strong and well-diversified futures. That bodes well for any of us with enough left over from bills to put into the burgeoning growth of PV worldwide.

The following projects were announced during 2009.  All of them are within the MENA areas:

• Egypt: Cycle Power Island, which will use a 20-MW CSP system was contracted, is currently under construction and expected to start operation in the year 2010.
• Tunisa: Government outlined plans to develop 40 solar projects between 2010 and 2016.  29 will be financed by private sector.
• Morocco: Undertaking a US $9-billion solar energy project, with five solar power generation sites throughout Morocco producing 2,000 MW of electricity by 2020.
• Jordan: The JOAN1 project is expected to enter operation in 2013 and will be the largest CSP project in the world using direct solar steam generation.
• Saudi Arabia: Kingdom’s Minister for Petroleum and Mineral Resources says solar will be a major contributor to energy supply in the next 5-10 years and has begun building the first solar-powered water desalination plant.
• Masdar & Abu Dhabi: 1.5 GW of CSP is slated for development by 2020, with the first 100 MW already under construction at Madinat Zayed and due for completion in 2011.
• Abu Dhabi: Made $2 billion investment in photovoltaic manufacturing.
• Algeria: Set goal to provide for 10 percent of the energy demand with renewable energy by 2025. One solar thermal plant is under construction.
• Syria: Increase in investment, especially foreign, in non-fossil fuel electricity sector.

The German company Centrotherm Photovoltaics AG will provide the technology for the production line.   SolarWorld AG has had successful dealings with Centrotherm PV in conjunction with its manufacturing facilities in the past.  Besides SolarWorld, investors include Qatar Foundation (70 percent) and the Qatar Development Bank.

Via RenewableEnergyWorld

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Intertek is now offering a free white paper called, “Green” Revolution: What does it mean to the building products industry?  This paper covers the challenges manufacturers face when they make “green” claims about their products, and how to eliminate potential pitfalls in the process.  The paper stems from increased public scrutiny in the wake of weakened or nonexistent standards within the blossoming green industry.

Intertek also has a new Environmental Certification program, which helps manufacturers validate green claims, such as amount of recycled content, solar reflectance, emissions, and energy efficiency in order to protect their brand and reputations.  This lends a competitive advantage in the marketplace while greatly reducing in-house staff and cost because of the third-party consulting.  It is perhaps more important than ever to verify the claims of products when incorporating them into a manufacturer’s offering and this new program has been designed to streamline the process.

The new program also seeks to bring clarity to the green revolution for building products manufacturers and create an eco-label that is meaningful, trustworthy and valuable to not only manufacturers of building materials, but also to purchasers and specifiers of these products, materials and assemblies.  Essentially, it is akin to the Energy Star certification, which guarantees that a product actually does reduce energy consumption rather than just claiming so.

To download the white paper, click here.

Source: Press Release at RenewableEnergyWorld.com

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