May 23, 2013
Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, aka George Santayana, was an American philosopher, essayist, poet and novelist. One of his most famous quotations was this: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This is one of Editorial Director Frank Andorka’s favorite quotations of all time (as a former history major, this
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Companies can choose between two types of concentrated solar technology. Concentrated photovoltaics, or CPV, uses mirrors or lenses to focus sunlight onto a small area of solar cells, creating electricity. Concentrated solar power, or CSP, on the other hand, uses mirrors to direct sunlight, or solar thermal energy, onto a small receiver. CPV CPV uses
After nearly two years of research, experts from TÜV Rheinland in Cologne, Germany, and TÜV Rheinland Photovoltaic Testing Laboratory (PTL) in Tempe, Ariz., have developed a new solar simulator for characterizing concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) modules. The new simulator allows for more precise comparison measurements on CPV modules designed for commercial use because it generates and
The concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) market is forecast to double in 2012 and reach almost 90 MW or $325 million, according to a new report from IMS Research. Furthermore, IMS Research predicts installations of this emerging technology will grow rapidly over the next five years to reach almost 1.2 GW by 2016. IMS Research’s recently released
Editor’s Note: GreenVolts, the company featured here, has suspended most of its operations since the print publication of this article. The company says a “change in direction” from a major investor has limited its access to funding. GreenVolts says a small team will remain to provide customer support and seek potential buyers of the system.
Throw out the solar panel performance data from labs and manufacturers. It’s flawed, said Bruce Mercy, CEO of PPA Partners, in a Solar Power International session decided to Concentrated Photovoltaic technology. “I’ve been higher and lower,” he said, “but never close to the data they provided.” He said the industry must develop better – and
In the field of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), Parabolic Trough Collector (PTC) technology is one of the most widely used. Dunkermotor’s says its new Bifurcated WormetaryTM gearmotors are designed to meet that application’s requirements, while offering several benefits. Dunkermotor, now part of Ametek Precision Motion Control, has further refined its unique Wormetary gearing to provide
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has a long-standing tradition of accelerating technological innovation, serving as early adopters and impacting the broader commercial market in areas such as aviation, computing and GPS. For the past several years, the DoD has been playing this role in the renewable energy space. In fact, The Pew Charitable Trusts
Once completed, the 280 MW Solana facility in Arizona will be the world’s largest concentrating solar power (CSP) plant. Abengoa will develop the solar project near Gila Bend. The plant will use parabolic trough technology and thermal storage using molten salts. Solana, meaning “a sunny place” in Spanish, will also use solar trackers with high
Can anyone really get lost anymore, especially if that person owns an iPhone with GPS capability? Yes. Yes, they can. Sadly, I’m living proof. I’m in San Francisco attending Intersolar North America 2012, a three-story show filled with passionate advocates for the solar market. I spent nearly seven hours yesterday meeting with many of them,
