Photovoltaic -- Engadget

photovoltaic posts

Captain Piccard unveils Solar Impulse HB-SIA solar-powered plane

by Vladislav Savov, posted Jul 3rd 2009 at 10:06PM

You might have seen solar-powered planes before, but few of them come with as much world-changing ambition as the Solar Impulse. Launched in 2003, the project aims to demonstrate the viability of renewable energy sources by being the first to perform a manned flight around the globe using only solar power. The technology is nothing to scoff at, as the 200-foot wingspan features 12,000 photovoltaic solar cells bringing power to four electric motors. Captain Bertrand Piccard, one of the key men behind this project, is best known as one half of the first team to circumnavigate the world in a balloon in 1999. He hopes, together with partner André Borschberg, to repeat that achievement in Solar Impulse's next iteration, the HB-SIB, in 2012. Make it so, guys.

[Via Gizmag]

Sharp slings out industry's thinnest solar modules for cellphones

by Darren Murph, posted May 26th 2009 at 10:56AM

Timely, no? Just a month after Sharp aided in producing the planet's first waterproof solar cellphone, the aforementioned outfit has just announced the industry's thinnest solar module for handsets. Checking in at just 0.8 millimeters thick, the LR0GC02 shouldn't take up too much space on your ~~daughter's~~ great-granddaughter's smartphone, and while Sharp isn't handing over too many details just yet, we figure it'll pretty much do what it says. You know -- charge the handset it's integrated into whenever sunlight is available. As for when we'll see these in cellphones everywhere? Take a wild guess, tree-hugger.

[Via Akihabara News]

Taiwan's National Stadium gets solar panel roof, hug from Ma Earth

by Darren Murph, posted May 21st 2009 at 8:03AM

Oh sure, we've seen photovoltaic panels strewn across rooftops before, but this takes things to a whole 'nother level. Taiwan's $152 million National Stadium, which will proudly host the 2009 World Games, is home to no fewer than 8,844 solar panels. With under a month to go before the events kick off, construction on the Toyo Ito-designed arena wrapped just in time, and we're told that some 55,000 observers will soon be spectating underneath the eco-friendly shelter. Early reports have noted that in optimal sunlight, the solar panels can cover around 75 percent of the stadium's energy needs, and on days when the facility is dormant, the power generated is simply fed into the grid in order to help the local community. So, who's down for a trip to Kaohsiung? Sunscreen's on us.

[Via Inhabitat]

Self-assembling nanoscale discovery could catapult data storage capacity

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 1st 2009 at 6:52AM

Ready to have your mind blown? What if 250 DVDs could fit onto a storage module no larger than a quarter? According to research conducted by brilliant geeks at the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, it's all within the realm of feasibility. Reportedly, an easily implemented technique "in which nanoscale elements precisely assemble themselves over large surfaces" could soon blow open the doors to significant improvements in data storage capacity. Without getting too Ph.D on you, the process essentially works by taking advantage of just how precise molecules can self-assemble. The end result has researchers achieving "defect-free arrays of nanoscopic elements with feature sizes as small as 3 nanometers, translating into densities of 10 terabits per square inch." Per square inch, son.

[Via TheStandard, thanks Apoc]

Baby steps: new solar cell efficiency record isn't awe-inspiring

by Darren Murph, posted Jan 27th 2009 at 2:02PM

Granted, we've no idea what it takes to really push the efficiency level of a solar cell, but we're getting pretty bored with these incremental improvements year after year. If you'll recall, the record for solar cell efficiency sat at 40.7 percent in 2006, and that was raised to an amazing 40.8 percent last August. Today, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems have announced an all new milestone: 41.1 percent efficiency. According to team head Frank Dimroth, the crew is simply "elated by this breakthrough." Meanwhile, the rest of planet Earth is suddenly depressed by the thought of perishing from old age before this data point ever breaks the big five-oh.

[Via Gizmag]

Intel talks up shape-shifting "programmable matter," bugs us out

by Darren Murph, posted Sep 2nd 2008 at 9:26AM

We've managed to somewhat wrap our brains around shape-shifting robots and printable circuits, but we're still working on fully understanding the latest Intel spill. As IDF came to a close, Justin Rattner, Intel's chief technology officer, presented a keynote speech in which he explained just how close the outfit was to realizing "programmable matter." Granted, he did confess that end products were still years away, but researchers have been looking at ways to "make an object of any imaginable shape," where users could simply hit a print button and watch the matter "take that shape." He also explained that the idea of programmable matter "revolves around tiny glass spheres with processing power and photovoltaic for generating electricity to run the tiny circuitry." For those now sitting with a blank stare on their face (read: that's pretty much all of you, no?), hit up the read link for even more mind-boggling "explanations."

[Via MAKE]

Two mammoth solar plants to generate 800 megawatts in California

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 18th 2008 at 10:10AM

It's one thing to see competition unnecessarily push more and more megapixels into palm-sized cameras, but this game of leapfrog is one we can actually get behind. A pair of giant solar plants will soon be installed in San Luis Obispo County in California, covering 12.5 square miles and promising to generate around 800 megawatts of power. OptiSolar will be responsible for laying enough panels to generate 550 megawatts, while SunPower -- the same company associated with the 14 megawatt installation at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada (pictured) -- will provide the other 250. The energy will eventually be sold to Pacific Gas & Electric, though any sort of pricing arrangements are strictly under wraps for now. C'mon Nevada, you gonna let the Golden State do you like that?

[Via Slashdot]

New solar cell efficiency record (barely) achieved at 40.8%

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 15th 2008 at 8:10AM

Just under two years ago, researchers at Boeing-Spectrolab managed to achieve 40.7% solar cell efficiency. Two years later, scientists at the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory have demonstrated their nerve by trumpeting an all new world record... one that's 0.1% points better than the last. Yes, your new record now sits at 40.8% -- tremendous progress, wouldn't you say? Looking outside of the numbers, you'll find that these cells differ "significantly" from the prior record holders, which enable them to be thinner, lighter, cheaper and altogether swanker. That's it for now folks -- come back in a couple years, we hear 40.9% is just around the bend.

[Via CNET]

Nihon windowpanes feature built-in photovoltaic cells

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 23rd 2008 at 10:10AM

Think your house is green? Think again. Japan's own Nihon Telecommunication System has just revealed a line of windowpanes that actually include integrated photovoltaic cells. The windows are aimed at the (ritzy) residential housing market, and folks that snag a few will reportedly be able to power a PC and recharge their cellphones simply by tapping into the energy generated by these units. Additionally, the glass is designed to shun most of the sunlight from coming into your abode, thereby lowering air conditioning costs and satisfying your needs as an introvert. So, what's the pain for helping out Mother Earth? Around $1,900 per square meter of windowpane -- ouch.

[Via CrunchGear]

Sharp solar panels to be used in two Japanese mega plants

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 24th 2008 at 10:57PM

Sharp has certainly been an integral part of these solar installations before, but the latest endeavor by the city of Sakai and the Kansai Electric Power Company isn't anything to sneeze at. The initiative will see a pair of "mega solar plants" constructed, one of which will crank out around 10,000 kW while the other outputs 18,000 kW. Once the plants go online in 2011, expectations are that CO2 emissions will decrease on the order of 10,000 tons per year. Of course, a staggering ¥5.0 billion ($46.5 million) will be coughed up in order to make it happen, but you can bet Mother Earth will certainly see it as money well spent.

[Via CrunchGear]

Intel spearheads SpectraWatt spin-off to create photovoltaic cells

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 16th 2008 at 11:57PM

Famed chip maker Intel is doing more than just buying up Renewable Energy Certificates like they're going out of style. It's cranking things up with a spin-off outfit that will soon be creating photovoltaic cells for solar module makers. Intel Capital is pouring some $50 million into SpectraWatt Inc., and it's being joined by Cogentrix Energy, PCG Clean Energy and Technology Fund and Solon AG. Aside from making that dough, the new company will also "concentrate development efforts on improvements in current manufacturing processes and capabilities to reduce the cost of photovoltaic energy generation," and if everything goes smoothly, it should break ground on its manufacturing and development facility in Oregon in 2H 2008 (with product shipping in mid-2009).

Solar Soft House converts household curtains into household current

by Thomas Ricker, posted Jun 12th 2008 at 6:56AM

Bravo Sheila Kennedy, bravo. You might just save us from our gadget-obsessed selves if the Soft House you've designed can pump the 16,000 watt-hours you predict. The design features thin photovoltaic films woven into semi-transparent curtains. The idea is similar to the solar power ski-suits (seriously) we've seen. Unfortunately, a home fitted entirely in solar textiles is still too costly at the moment. Cost measured in cash, apparently.

Napa Valley winery flips on Flotovoltaic solar array

by Darren Murph, posted May 31st 2008 at 8:42PM

Chalk another one up for Sharp. The company has landed yet another partner willing to utilize its solar panels in order to make news, wow onlookers and give Mother Earth a modicum of a break. Napa Valley winery Far Niente has flipped on its self-coined Floatovoltaic installation, which was developed by Thompson Technology Industries and installed by SPG Solar. Nearly 2,300 Sharp solar panels were secured for the job, and we're told that the array generates 400 kWs at peak output, which "significantly offsets the winery's annual power usage and provides a net-zero energy bill." Don't expect that coveted bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon to be any cheaper as a result, though.

[Via CNET]

SUNRGI, University of Tel Aviv boast of solar power advances

by Donald Melanson, posted May 1st 2008 at 3:49PM

It looks like we've got a bit of intercontinental solar power action today, with Silicon Valley start-up SUNRGI and the University of Tel Aviv both recently boasting of some advances in the field, which they each unsurprisingly say could change things in a big way. For its part, SUNRGI claims that its "concentrated photovoltaic" system (pictured above) can produce as much electricity as much larger solar panels thanks to its use of lenses that magnify sunlight 2,000 times. That, they say, could allow the system to produce electricity for as little as 7 cents per kilowatt hour, or roughly the same price as coal -- and as soon as mid-2009, no less. Not to be outdone, some scientists at the University of Tel Aviv say they've managed to create some super-efficient photovoltaic cells of their own that cost "at least a hundred times less than conventional silicon based devices." The key to their system, it seems, is the use of some good old fashioned photosynthesis, which they were able to achieve not-so-old-fashionedly with the aid of some genetically engineered proteins and a little bit of nanotechnology. As with SUNRGI, they're also promising to get the system out the door as soon as possible, with them reportedly aiming to get a "cost effective" 10mm X 10mm device produced "within three years."

Read - USA Today, "Start-up: Affordable solar power possible in a year"
Read - EETimes, "Researchers claim photovoltaic cell advance"

[Via Next Big Future, thanks Jonathan]

US' largest solar photovoltaic system flipped on in Nevada

by Darren Murph, posted Dec 30th 2007 at 8:47AM

Sure, we've seen monolithic solar farms before, but the 14-megawatt Nellis solar energy system is a beast that stands alone -- for now, at least. As of today, this farm is hailed as America's "largest solar photovoltaic system," but if all goes to plan, Cleantech America will grab those honors when it completes a massive 80-megawatt project in neighboring California. Nevertheless, this system -- which is housed at the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada -- will reportedly generate "30 million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually and supply approximately 25-percent of the total power used at the base, where 12,000 people live and work." Of course, some 140 acres of land have been covered with 72,000 solar panels in order to make it happen, but it's not like anything else is going out there (CES and rabid gambling notwithstanding).

[Via MetaEfficient, image courtesy of CleanTech]