Solar Power World

Project Review: The Home of the Future is Here Now

Nexus EnergyHomes builds net-zero homes available at market price Imagine opening your mailbox and never seeing another electric bill. This may seem like a dream for the future, but with today’s technology it’s actually possible to build houses that produce as much power as they generate. “Net-zero” homes have made headlines here and there, but at such high prices they are... Read More

Photovoltaic Metallization Enables Efficient Solar Cells

DuPont says its Solamet PV17x photovoltaic metallization paste has become the leading frontside silver paste series on the market today due to its ability to raise efficiency in standard solar cell constructions. Its unique properties enable Lightly Doped Emitter (LDE) cell designs. LDE is a strong differentiator for solar cell producers as it can boost efficiency by up to 0.4 percent.... Read More

Navigating by the Sun: U.S. Department of Defense White Paper

Principal Solar, Inc has released a white paper entitled Navigating by the Sun: U.S. Department of Defense Takes Aggressive Lead as Early Adopters of Solar Energy. The paper explores the leadership role the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is playing as early adopters of solar energy technologies. “Driven by climate change and the need for energy security, the DoD’s solar... Read More

AlsoEnergy Monitors PV Project of PV Distinction Award Winner

Accepting award are: Robert Schaeffer, AlsoEnergy; Jonathan Postal, Main Street Power; Rex Stepp, APS; Lori Stofft, AWC; Bruce Mercy, PPA Partners; and David Lincoln, Rosendin Electric. A 23-acre solar installation at Arizona Western College (AWC) in Yuma, Ariz. being monitored for performance by AlsoEnergy was recently recognized with the PV Project of Distinction award at PV... Read More

World’s Largest Aperture Parabolic Trough Installation

3M’s Renewable Energy Division has teamed with Gossamer Space Frames to unveil a new parabolic trough solar collector technology designed to significantly reduce equipment and installation costs for CSP systems used in power generation. The Large Aperture Trough 73 (LAT 73) features a concentration factor of over 100x and an aperture size of 7.3 m, both world benchmarks for the... Read More

Home Heliostats

Turning on a light indoors while the sun is shining outdoors creates frustration for an environmentalist. Knowing that a simple flick of the light switch causes a chain of energy production, transportation and conversion just seems crazy when the sun is pouring down free photons outside only a few feet away.One often proposed solution for this is to use a heliostat, which is... Read More

DPW Solar Introduces the Power Peak Large-Scale Ground Mount System

DPW Solar announces the new Power Peak Mounting System, engineered for larger ground mount PV solar installations. The PV solar mounting system features fewer pre-assembled components resulting in faster build rates. Combining high strength steel components, lightweight module rails and the patent pending RAD clamp, the Power Peak provides a fast and secure mounting structure for... Read More

A Low-Cost Alternative To Silicon Solar

The single-wall nanotube arrays, grown in a process invented at Rice University, are much more electroactive and potentially cheaper than platinum, a common catalyst in DSC’s, says Jun Lou a materials scientist at Rice. In combination with newly developed sulfide electrolytes synthesized at Tsinghua University, Lou believes these could lead to more efficient and robust solar... Read More

Panasonic Solar Panels Installed At New City Nissan in Honolulu

Panasonic announces that New City Nissan in Honolulu, Hawai’i has installed a 305.7-KW Panasonic solar system to generate additional revenue and energy-cost savings for the dealership. The Nissan dealership unveiled the system at a ribbon-cutting event on the new system as part of its “Earth Day Event.” The dealership installation features Panasonic HIT Power 220-watt panels,... Read More

Missouri Baseball Teams Go Solar

UPDATED APRIL 16 to reflect whose panels were used in the St. Louis project — SCHOTT Solar. Missouri’s two Major League Baseball (MLB) teams have recently scored renewable energy projects. Both the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals have installed solar panels that were up and running when the 2012 season opened. At Busch Stadium in St. Louis, home of the 2011 World... Read More

How To Seal Molten Salts In Concentrated Solar Plants

By  Sherwin Damdar, Senior Product Engineer and Wayne Evans, Product Development Engineer, Garlock Sealing Technologies Solar power will undoubtedly be a key component in most countries’ energy portfolios as the world turns to more renewable resources. But the cost of solar energy – it is still considerably more expensive than fossil fuels — will remain an impediment to rapid,... Read More

Project Review: Stimulating Schools With Solar In California

  JMC Steel Group’s Atlas Tube division was able to work through PDM Steel to provide 1,200 tons of large-size HSS squares and rectangles to for use in the steel columns of the solar carports. By leveraging its resources and relationships, JMC Steel delivered the order on time, despite a tight schedule. –photo courtesy of SRVUSD Utilities are often school districts’ second... Read More

Engineering Developments: A Guide To Successful CSP

  Most power plants use fossil fuels as a heat source to boil water. The steam from the boiling water spins a large turbine, which drives a generator to produce electricity. However, a new generation of power plants with concentrating solar power (CSP) systems use the sun as a heat source. The three main types of concentrating solar power systems are: linear concentrator, dish/engine,... Read More

Installation Practices: Keep Your PV System Well-Grounded

                              Photos Courtesy of Standard Solar Of all the elements of a U.S. solar installation, the grounding portion of the system may well be the most important. First, it is required to ground all PV systems. Second, a properly grounded system will help protect you and your employees... Read More

Technology Developers: Solar Goes To College

In 2006, a group of college and university presidents came together and created the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment. A small community college in Victorville, Calif., signed the agreement and immediately investigated renewable energy alternatives to produce at least 1 MW of its energy needs. Victor Valley College originally examined the possibility... Read More