Strange Solar Bedfellows -- Why?

"Once billed as the odd couple when it came to energy policy, Ted Turner and a subsidiary of Southern Co. have been making headlines by investing in large solar projects over the past few years.

In this case, the anomaly is not that Turner, a longtime environmentalist and philanthropist, and Southern, owner of the nation’s three largest greenhouse gas-contributing coal plants, are working together. It’s that all but one of these solar projects are in the Southwest, far away from Georgia and the Southeast where Atlanta-based Southern’s utilities operate.

This means Georgians won’t benefit directly from Southern’s investments in solar, a non-polluting source of electricity that is fast becoming cost-competitive with traditional sources of fuel such as coal and natural gas. Southern-owned Georgia Power has slowly shifted away from using coal to provide electricity, but environmentalists say the use of cleaner, renewable sources of fuel such as solar remain a long way off in this state because of legislative and regulatory boundaries."

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Funneling Solar Energy

"The concept is a simple one, borrowing from some very elementary principles. For instance, everyone knows the best way to capture and contain the most of an element or substance is with a funnel.  These cones make it easier to put oil in our cars or fill small glass shakers from a larger bag of sugar.

Now, some MIT engineers have worked out a computational model which shows how solar energy can be more or less funneled before it’s captured, ensuring an efficient and effective solar energy capturing mechanism."

Red Orbit

Larry Hagman - Real Life Trumps Fiction

"Larry Hagman may have played television’s most famous evil oil baron, J.R. Ewing, but in real life the “Dallas” actor was a fierce proponent of solar energy.

The actor had already installed the world’s largest residential solar array, a 94-kilowatt system, on his estate in Ojai, Calif., and served on the board of the Solar Electric Light Fund, a non-profit that brings solar systems to the developing world.

He struck a deal with German solar manufacturer SolarWorld to shoot the commercial in exchange for a donation of photovoltaic panels to the Haiti relief effort following the devastating 2010 earthquake.

'The thing is, these solar panels are manufactured domestically and can provide a lot of jobs for soldiers returning from all those wars we have fought.'"

Forbes

The Land of the Rising Sun Goes Solar

"According to a new report from the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association, domestic shipments of solar cells and modules have risen by 80% in the July-September quarter of this year. This is on the heels of the Japanese government enacting an ambitious solar energy incentive initiative, a feed-in tariff (known as net energy metering in California) that aims to help support the adoption of solar energy throughout the country.

The feed-in tariff was introduced in the wake of the Fukushima disaster of 2011, when a powerful earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear crisis in Northern Japan. After the disaster, the government made moves to abandon nuclear power. While moving away from nuclear energy has proven to be a slow and laborious process, the country has been keen to aggressively replace nuclear with other forms of alternative energy that are considered safer. Solar energy has, thus far, become one of the country’s most favored forms of alternative energy for this purpose."

Energy Tribune

Solar Innovation in Arizona

Concentrating Solar Power Technology with Storage

"The technology generates power from sunlight by focusing energy from a field of sun-tracking mirrors called heliostats onto a central receiver. Liquid salt, which flows similar to water when melted, is circulated through the receiver, collecting the energy gathered from the sun. The heated salt is then routed to an insulated storage tank where it is stored with minimal energy losses. When electricity is to be generated, the hot salt is routed to heat exchangers to produce steam used to generate electricity in a conventional steam turbine cycle. The salt is then sent to the cold salt storage tank, ready to be reheated by the sun and reused the following day. The salt storage technology was demonstrated successfully at the U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored 10-MW Solar Two project near Barstow, California.

The Crossroads Solar Energy Project will:

• Help meet growing demand for clean, renewable energy sources.
• Incorporate energy storage, which provides operating stability for the electricity grid and a cost effective way to meet Arizona’s peak electricity demand profile.
• Deliver up to 150 MW net nominal output, producing approximately 450,000 MWh annually.
• Boost the local economy by creating up to 450 construction jobs at peak and about 45 permanent operating jobs, and also significant property tax revenues that will benefit the local community and region"

Crossroads Solar Energy

California's Current Power Mix

FC Note:

Electricity diminishes as it travels thus it is notably expensive that California currently imports from out of state as much as 29% of what it needs to keep the lights on for a population of over 37 million.

Califorina ISO

Google Green

Greening our power

Currently, very little of the world's power is from renewables like wind and solar.  We're working on changing that by buying electricity directly from wind farms near our data centers.  We get clean energy at competitive prices, the wind farm owners get the money they need to finance new clean energy facilities and together we make the grid a little bit greener.

The Big Picture - Google

Solar Leaders Pull Away From The Pack

"As system installed costs become competitive with retail electricity rates and new markets develop, these companies may be well positioned for more sustainable and profitable growth.  As we watch this industry evolve, we believe the PV Sustainable Growth Index will continue to shed light not only on the most successful players, but on the fundamental changes that emanate within this maturing market."

Forbes

2012 PV Sustainable Growth Index 

Rank	Name	Country	Score	2011 Rank	2011-2012 Change
1	First Solar	US	56.5	2	Up 1
2	Trina Solar	CN	61.5	1	Down 1
3	Trony Solar	CN	72.0	New
4	JinkoSolar	CN	74.5	10	Up 6
5	Yingli Green Energy	CN	79.0	6	Up 1
6	Canadian Solar	CN	82.5	15	Up 9
7	Suntech	CN	88.5	12	Up 5
8	JA Solar	CN	89.0	5	Down 3
9	REC ASA	NO	96.5	9	Same
10	ReneSola	CN	100.5	2	Down 8
11	SunPower	US	107.5	14	Up 3
12	Hanwha SolarOne	CN	120.0	13	Up 1
13	Neo Solar Power	TW	126.5	11	Down 2
14	SolarWorld AG	DE	127.5	17	Up 3
15	Motech Industries	TW	129.0	8	Down 7
16	Risen Energy	CN	132.5	New
17	LDK Solar	CN	133.0	2	Down 15
18	Green Energy Tech	TW	141.0	19	Up 1
19	aleo solar AG	DE	142.0	16	Down 3
20	Gintech Energy	TW	150.0	7	Down 13
21	Centrosolar AG	DE	158.5	22	Up 1
22	Conergy AG	DE	160.5	22	Same
23	China Sunergy	CN	164.0	18	Down 5
24	Delsolar	TW	183.0	21	Down 3
25	E-Ton Solar Tech	TW	187.0	24	Down 1

Self-Taught African Teen Wows M.I.T

15-Year-Old Kelvin Doe

"15-Year-Old Kelvin Doe is an engineering whiz living in Sierra Leone who scours the trash bins for spare parts, which he uses to build batteries, generators and transmitters. Completely self-taught, Kelvin has created his own radio station where he broadcasts news and plays music under the moniker, DJ Focus.

Kelvin became the youngest person in history to be invited to the "Visiting Practitioner's Program" at MIT. THNKR had exclusive access to Kelvin and his life-changing journey - experiencing the US for the first time, exploring incredible opportunities, contending with homesickness, and mapping out his future."

YouTube

Greening Energy & Reducing Costs (The Perfect Marriage) -- with Rust!

Iron Oxide (Rust)

“Using the power of the sun and ultrathin films of iron oxide (commonly known as rust), researchers at the Technion, Israel’s Institute of Technology, have found a novel way to split water molecules to hydrogen and oxygen. The breakthrough, published this week in the scientific journal Nature Materials, could lead to less expensive, more efficient ways to store solar energy in the form of hydrogen-based fuels. This could be a major step forward in the development of viable replacements for fossil fuels.

‘Our approach is the first of its kind,” says lead researcher, Associate Professor Avner Rothschild, of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. “We have found a way to trap light in ultrathin films of iron oxide that are 5,000 thinner than an office paper. This enables achieving high solar energy conversion efficiency and low materials and production costs.’”

NoCamels.com

Solar Companies Seek Ways to Build an Oasis of Electricity

"In the Rockaways, where nearly 14,000 customers still had no power as of Monday morning, volunteers set up a makeshift solar charging station between a car roof and a shopping cart. A multipanel, battery-tied system is helping fuel a relief center’s operations.

In the storm’s wake, solar companies have been donating equipment across New York and other stricken areas to function as emergency power systems now and backups in the longer term. It is important, executives say, to create smaller, more decentralized ways of generating and storing electricity to help ease strain on the grid in times of high demand or failure."

The New York Times

50-Acre Solar Array Planned at Sonoma County Airport

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

"What would be the largest solar energy project in Sonoma County, generating enough electricity for 10,000 homes, is being planned for vacant land at the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport.

'The goal is to get renewable energy projects started here in Sonoma County and get local jobs in this arena," said Cordel Stillman, the capital projects manager for the Sonoma County Water Agency.'

In addition, the airport is planning its own solar installations to provide electricity to the administration building, terminal and runway and security lighting."

PressDemocrat.com

Electric Auto - German Style

The New York Times

The Missing Link to Renewable Energy

 "If we're going to get this country out of its current energy situation, we can't just conserve our way out; we can't just drill our way out; we can't bomb our way out. We're going to do it the old-fashioned American way, we're going to invent our way out, working together."

Donald Sadoway from MIT discusses his invention of the "Liquid Metal Battery" that would enable the economical storage of energy from solar, wind and other sources so that it could be used when homes and businesses need it.

TED Talk

Edison International & Solar Schoolhouse

"Twenty teachers from across Ventura County learned at a Saturday workshop about solar energy concepts they can bring to their classrooms to inspire students.

Funded by a $10,000 grant from Edison International to the Sustainability Council of Ventura County, the workshop was offered for teacher professional development in the area of energy and the environment. It was held at Camarillo's Conference and Educational Services Center.

The bottom line is it is about empowering students and giving them a voice and helping them to realize that with all these problems we hear about, there are solutions, and with those solutions come opportunities."

Ventura County Star