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This post originally appeared on Energy Self-Reliant States , a resource of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s New Rules Project . Solar grid parity is considered the tipping point for solar power, when installing solar power will cost less than buying electricity from the grid. It’s also a tipping point for the electricity system, when millions of Americans can choose energy production and self-reliance over dependence on their electric utility. But this simple concept conceals a great deal of complexity. And given the stakes of solar grid parity, it’s worth exploring the details. The cost of solar
Solar grid parity 101—and why you should care
BRITISH TEAM DEVELOPS THIN SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAICS
The way that solar technology is advancing these days can only be described as truly exciting. The latest report: a team of British researchers from Durham University have developed light absorbing materials for use in the production of super-thin layer photovoltaics . These thin cells could be installed on homes or even moving cars, and could be significantly less expensive than their thicker counterparts. <a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/Inhabitat/energy;article=articlename;kw=content1;sz=300x250;ord=123456789?" target="_blank" ><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/Inhabitat/energy;article=articlename;kw=content1;sz=300x250;ord=123456789?" border="0" alt="" /></a>
mans tham: solar serpents
first image render of the exterior of 'solar serpent' all images courtesy of mans tham the project 'solar serpent' by swedish architect and urban strategist mans tham , explores how architectural design could change both the function and the narrative of motopia's most symbolic structures. urban oil wells have made the link between energy and daily life unusually apparent in los angeles. but oil is not the only apparent energy source in these places. there is also an abundance of sun. render of interior of 'solar serpent'
AquaSun Floating Solar Panels To Be Deployed In France
Solar panels take up a lot of space, but Israeli company Solaris Synergy (working with French EDF Group ) have found a solution: placing floating solar panels on inland bodies of water. The project, called AquaSun , would not only see the panels placed on lakes and reservoirs, but the panles would use the water as a cooling system. <a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/Inhabitat/energy;article=articlename;kw=content1;sz=300x250;ord=123456789?" target="_blank" ><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/Inhabitat/energy;article=articlename;kw=content1;sz=300x250;ord=123456789?"
As the U.S. government continues to heap billions in subsidies to the world's wealthiest coal and oil companies, the solar industry has been struggling to make it in the United States. This is sad for many reasons, not the least of which is that we're missing out on one of the biggest growth industries in the world. Currently there are 16 gigawatts of installed solar power globally. That number will grow to about 1,800 gigawatts in the next 20 years, making it one of the best job creators. U.S. engineers invented the solar panel, and the U.S. should be dominating that market. Instead, foreign manufacturers (particularly in China) have taken our IP and run with it, as we become increasingly dependent on foreign oil and dirty coal operations to meet our power needs.
Solar goes Hyper in the U.S.
Scientists Develop Affordable Solar Panels That Work In The Dark
It's about damn time, don't you think? Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory announced Wednesday that they have been able to confirm a new high-efficiency solar cell design that utilizes nearly the entire solar spectrum. Translation: They figured out a way to make solar panels generate electricity in the dark. CleanTechnica says , In earlier trials, the researchers used different alloys that achieved full spectrum responses but involved very high production costs. The advantage of gallium arsenide nitride is that it is very similar to a conventional semiconductor, gallium arsenide, and it can be produced with a commonly used fabrication method involving chemical vapor deposition.
NextGen Announces Cheap Solar Paint on the Horizon
NextGen Solar has announced that their new breed of cheap solar paint is closer than ever now that the company has raised half of the $1 million it needs to move out of the lab and into the real world. The company’s solar paint is expected to provide up to 40% efficiency at a third of the cost of traditional photovoltaic panels . That’s partially because the paint captures more wavelengths of light than traditional cells. The material, which forms small connected solar cells as it dries, can be applied to nearly any surface–windows, walls, roofs, and more. <a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/Inhabitat/energy;article=articlename;kw=content1;sz=300x250;ord=123456789?" target="_blank" ><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/Inhabitat/energy;article=articlename;kw=content1;sz=300x250;ord=123456789?"
While the reflective and shiny solar panels that researchers have been making thus far look pretty, they’re no match for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) recently discovered black silicon solar cell. The scientists at NREL discovered that etching thousands of tiny holes into a silicon wafer causes it to be almost black and thus able to absorb almost all of the sun’s rays, and more absorbent solar cells mean more efficient panels. <a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/Inhabitat/energy;article=articlename;kw=content1;sz=300x250;ord=123456789?" target="_blank" ><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/Inhabitat/energy;article=articlename;kw=content1;sz=300x250;ord=123456789?" border="0" alt="" /></a>
New Black Silicon Solar Cells are Cheap and Absorb More Sun
‘Thin-layer’ solar cells may bring cheaper ‘green’ power
(23 August 2007) Scientists are harnessing the sun’s rays to create cheaper green energy. The experts at Durham University are developing light-absorbing materials for use in the production of thin-layer solar photovoltaic (PV) cells which are used to convert light energy into electricity. The four-year project involves experiments on a range of different materials that would be less expensive and more sustainable to use in the manufacturing of solar panels. Thicker silicon-based cells and compounds containing indium, a rare and expensive metal, are more commonly used to make solar panels today.
BREAKING: Solar Power Breakthrough Could Render Photovoltaic Cells Obsolete
Researchers at the University of Michigan have made a discovery about the behavior of light that could change solar technology forever. Stephen Rand, a professor in the departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Physics and Applied Physics and William Fisher, a doctoral student in applied physics, discovered that light , when traveling at the right intensity through a material such as glass that does not conduct electricity, can create magnetic fields that are 100 million times stronger than previously thought possible. In these conditions, the resulting magnetic field is strong enough to rival a strong electric effect. The result is an “optical battery, which could lead to “a new kind of solar cell without semiconductors and without absorption to produce charge separation”, according to Rand. <a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/Inhabitat/energy;article=articlename;kw=content1;sz=300x250;ord=123456789?"Australian Scientists Develop World’s Most Efficient Solar Cell
The race for the world’s most efficient solar power cell is forever played out in fractions of percentages. The latest victory comes from scientists at the University of New South Wales in Australia, who have concocted a multi-cell combination that converts 43% of sunlight into electricity , besting the previous record of 42.7%! <a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/Inhabitat/Energy;article=articlename;kw=content1;sz=300x250;ord=123456789?" target="_blank" ><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/Inhabitat/Energy;article=articlename;kw=content1;sz=300x250;ord=123456789?"Pearltrees videos
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