Industrial Revolution 2

San Francisco Business Times:

“Nanoprinting’ is hot solar item. Technology pits efficiency vs. cost in panel market

by Amy Coombs

Conventional solar panels will remain the best bet for users who need to get the most electricity from limited space, says Gerber.

The solar industry is competing in a Space Age-like rush to develop the next generation of solar panels. Thanks to a key summer finance deal and the achievement of critical technology milestones, the thinnest and perhaps most cost-effective new technology may soon hit the market.”

More on this…

Technorati Tags:
Solar Panels, Solar Power

Dr. Steven Chu and Dr. Arno Penzias will highlight green technology and photonics.:
“Nobel Laureates to Speak at OPTOmism 2009

Dr. Steven Chu and Dr. Arno Penzias will highlight green technology and photonics.

Last update: 3:56 p.m. EDT Oct. 27, 2008

WASHINGTON, Oct 27, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Dr. Steven Chu and Dr. Arno Penzias, both Nobel Laureates for physics, will be plenary speakers at the OPTOmism 2009 conference and exhibition. OPTOmism will focus on photonic products for green technology and is being co-founded by the Optoelectronics Industry Development Association (OIDA) and PennWell Corporation. The inaugural event will be held in Santa Clara, CA May 18-20, 2009. ” More on this from MarketWatch…

Intel Inside China: $20 Million on Solar:
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on 28 October 2008, 18:03

by Scott Martin

Intel Capital on Tuesday said it injected $20 million into Chinese solar company Trony Solar.

The Shenzhen solar company develops thin-film solar technology. Thin-film advocates point to its low usage of raw materials compared with silicon wafer-based solar cells and the potential to bring down costs.

Intel Capital’s investment in China marks its first foray into solar energy in the region. The investment arm of the chipmaker has invested more than $100 million on solar energy this year. More on this…

Technorati Tags:
Solar Power, Sustainable Investing

Technology Review:

Focusing Light on Silicon Beads: “Focusing Light on Silicon Beads Placing tiny spheres of silicon in reflective trays could be the key to cheap, efficient solar cells. By Duncan Graham-Rowe”

Technorati Tags:
Solar Panels, Solar Power, Sustainable Energy

Sunrgi :: Solar Energy Systems Solar Tracking:
“new solar energy system makes it possible to produce wholesale electricity at a cost competitive with fossil fuels SUNGRI Announces Xtreme Concentrated Photovoltaics ™ (XCPV™) at The National Energy Marketeers Association’s 11th Annual Global Energy Forum in Washington, DC washington, dc –

A new solar energy system will soon make it possible to produce electricity at a wholesale cost of 5-cents per kWh (kilowatt hour). This price is competitive with the wholesale cost of producing electricity using fossil fuels and a fraction of the current cost of solar energy.

XCPV (Xtreme Concentrated Photovoltaics), a system that concentrates the equivalent of more than 1,600 times the sun’s energy onto the world’s most efficient solar cells, was announced today by SUNRGI, a solar energy system designer and developer, at the National Energy Marketers Association’s 11th Annual Global Energy Forum in Washington, DC. The technology will enable power companies, businesses, and residents to produce electricity from solar energy at a lower cost than ever before.

‘Solar Power at 5 cents per kWh would be a world-changing breakthrough,’ said Craig Goodman, president, National Energy Marketers Association. ‘It would make solar generation of electricity as affordable as generation from coal, natural gas or other non-renewable sources, without requiring a subsidy‘ ‘In a little more than a year we were able to develop and successfully test XCPV,’ said Robert S (Bob) Block, co-founder and SUNRGI principal. ‘We expect the SUNRGI system to become available for both on and off-grid power applications, worldwide, in twelve to fifteen months‘

What differentiates SUNRGI’s XCPV system from any other solar energy system includes: a propriety, integrated low profile technology for concentrating sunlight; a propriety technology and methodology for cooling solar cells; a low cost, modular system optimized for mass production; less land area or ‘roof top’ requirements than typical solar energy systems; a technology roadmap for continuous improvement; low-cost field installation; and, a custom-designed system for easy operation and maintenance.

about SUNRGI
SUNRGI, with offices, in Reno, Silicon Valley and Los Angeles, is in the business of designing and developing solar energy systems. It was formed by five, experienced, entrepreneurial, inventive individuals with the goal of created a renewable energy source that would be available at fossil fuel prices. Its work has led to the development of an entirely new solar energy category: Xtreme Concentrated Photovoltaics or XCPV “

(Via Sunrgi :: Solar Energy Systems Solar Tracking.)

Technorati Tags:
Solar Panels, Solar Power

Turning Glare Into Watts – New York Times

…”After a decade of no activity, two prototype solar thermal plants were recently opened in the United States, with a capacity that could power several big hotels, neon included, on the Las Vegas Strip, about 20 miles north of here. Another 10 power plants are in advanced planning in California, Arizona and Nevada.

On sunny afternoons, those 10 plants would produce as much electricity as three nuclear reactors, but they can be built in as little as two years, compared with a decade or longer for a nuclear plant. Some of the new plants will feature systems that allow them to store heat and generate electricity for hours after sunset.”

(Via Turning Glare Into Watts – New York Times.)