New resourceful energy users plan to install solar

Posted on May 20, 2011 by quest

A new study from Deloitte shows the emergence of a diligent new attitude toward energy consumption in the United States. According to the study, 52 percent of companies are working to reduce their energy costs by 25 percent on average over the next two to three years. Concurrently, an increasingly sophisticated consumer demographic is looking for household savings in a tight economy. According to the study, 68 percent of consumers are taking extra steps to cut their electric bills because of the recession. The study, “reSources 2011″ conducted by Deloitte with strategy and market research firm, The Harrison Group, polled 3,200 household decision-makers and more than 400 business decision-makers responsible for their company’s energy decisions or energy policy.

According to the data, American businesses and consumers are in the midst of “the birth of the resourceful energy user,” said Greg Aliff, vice chairman and U.S. energy & resources leader, Deloitte LLP. “We are seeing a profound and, in many ways, grassroots movement toward energy conscientiousness among businesses and consumers.”The Deloitte study shows that about 45 percent of Americans have directly felt the pain of the recession, due to factors such as a job loss or income reduction. It also shows that in addition to the almost 70 percent of consumers who said they reduced their electricity bills during the recession, 95 percent said they do not intend to increase their electricity use even as the economy improves.

360 VIEW OF THE SUN

Aliff noted that a similar light bulb has turned on when it comes to energy use at businesses, with 90 percent of companies setting specific goals regarding electricity and energy management practices. Furthermore, about three-quarters of businesses now have goals related to reducing electricity cost and consumption and improving the efficiency of the buildings in which they operate. More than half (56 percent) have goals aimed at improving profitability through electricity reduction. And nearly one-third of companies have goals to self-generate electricity through measures like installing solar panels. The Deloitte survey also shows that cost consciousness and social awareness are the twin drivers behind corporate energy management, with 70 percent of companies reporting the desire to cut costs as a driver behind their energy management goals, and more than half (53 percent) saying that their companies have set energy-related goals at least in part because it is “the right thing to do.”

NEWS ON GOING GREEN

New solar technology pushing through solar panel limits

Posted on May 19, 2011 by quest

Photovoltaic (PV) efficiency is a significant problem for today’s commercial solar panels, which can collect only a theoretical maximum of about 30 percent of available light. Now, a team that includes a University of Missouri engineer is developing a flexible solar film that can theoretically capture more than 90 percent of available light. Prototypes could be produced within the next five years.

Patrick Pinhero, an associate professor in the MU Chemical Engineering Department, says energy generated using traditional photovoltaic methods of solar collection is inefficient and neglects much of the available solar electromagnetic (sunlight) spectrum. The device the team is developing — essentially a thin, moldable sheet of small antennas called nantenna — is designed to harvest industrial waste heat and convert it into usable electricity. Their ambition is to extend this concept to direct solar facing nantenna devices capable of collecting energy broadly from the near infrared to the optical regions of the solar spectrum. Working with colleagues at Idaho National Laboratory, and Garret Moddel, an electrical engineering professor at the University of Colorado, Pinhero and the team are now developing a way to extract electricity from the collected heat and sunlight using special high-speed electrical circuitry. This team also includes Dennis Slafer of MicroContinuum, Inc., in Cambridge, Mass., which is developing a manufacturing process that can inexpensively produce high volumes of the novel energy-harvesting film.

“Our overall goal is to collect and utilize as much solar energy as is theoretically possible and bring it to the commercial market in an inexpensive package that is accessible to everyone,” Pinhero said. “If successful, this product will put us orders of magnitudes ahead of the current solar energy technologies we have available to us today.”
The team, which is seeking funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and private investors, also envisions an energy-harvesting device for existing industrial infrastructure, including solar farms and factories that generate waste heat. Within five years, the research team believes they will have a product that complements conventional PV solar panels by capturing currently unused infrared energy. Because it’s a flexible film, Pinhero believes it could be incorporated into building materials and infrastructure.

Biomass Energy To Triple By 2050

Intersolar Europe Tracks The Future of Solar Power

Posted on May 18, 2011 by quest

Technological developments in the area of photovoltaics are advancing daily. As a result, the cost of solar power is falling and new concepts are being developed for generating electricity in the future. Photovoltaics plays a major role at the world’s largest exhibition for the solar industry, Intersolar Europe in Munich. From June 8-10, 2011, around 2,000 companies will showcase the latest trends and developments in this field alone, with photovoltaics once again occupying a large part of the exhibition. Approximately 300 of these companies work in both photovoltaics and solar thermal technology. In an exhibition space covering 165,000 square meters, a total of 2,200 companies from around the world will present their products and services in the areas of photovoltaics, PV production technology and solar thermal technology.

Faced with the environmental challenges that go hand in hand with supplying energy to an increasing global population, numerous incentive programs across the globe have emerged for developing renewable energy – most recently in India and China for example. At the same time, the German feed-in tariff is falling. Therefore, researchers and industry are working against the clock to achieve grid parity – the point at which electricity from photovoltaic installations can be sold at a competitive price.

Intersolar Europe not only focuses on technology itself, but also shines the spotlight on innovative applications and system solutions, such as those involved in using unconventional surfaces for photovoltaic installations. Alternative surfaces for photovoltaic installations – such as carport roofing – are currently taking center stage in the industry. Solar carports are a worthwhile alternative to conventional surfaces because no additional ground sealing is required and they offer huge potential. The largest installation of this type is located in Italy and is already boasting an output of six megawatts. The industry is currently developing multiple new ideas so that, in the future, the power generated from the carports may be used directly or indirectly for parked electric vehicles.

SHARE NEWS AT: A GREEN RENAISSANCE

Solar Stocks Heating Up

Posted on May 18, 2011 by quest

With booming fuel prices and a consequently growing emphasis on renewable energy, solar power is gaining much more of a focus lately from both homeowners as well as big businesses looking to get in at near the ground floor. Also, quite a few governments are incentivizing the uptake of solar energy. Italy, for instance, which is one of Europe’s biggest solar markets, recently extended its solar incentives until August. The growing focus on Solar could cause widespread changes throughout the sector. One of these potential changes has already begun to take place as European oil giant Total SA agreed to buy up to 60% of SunPower Corporation for $1.38 billion.

The interest of Big Oil in solar companies could just be getting started and it would not be surprising to see much more M&A activities in the future.

The recent Japanese disasters, while tragic on many levels, may also have some upside for the solar sector. Negative sentiment surrounding nuclear energy could result in a greater assumption of renewable energies such as solar panels. Companies like Trina Solar Limited which already has a presence in Asia should be well positioned to take advantage of this shift, should it take place. A Trina Solar Limited report is accessible for free at stock trading firm; Shine’s Room which has a handpicked team of market professionals with over 100 years of combined investing experience. They are providing members comprehensive research on the Semiconductor – Specialized industry and are offering free analytical research on Trina Solar Limited and SunPower Corporation.

SOLAR TEAM

**EXPLORE: NEW GREEN INVESTING**

UCLA Predicts L A To Be Electric Vehicle Leader

Posted on May 16, 2011 by quest

Los Angeles will be a U.S. leader in electric vehicle adoption, according to a new study published by the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation and the UCLA Anderson School of Management. “This offers the city the opportunity to reduce the local and global environmental impacts of vehicle travel, as most Angelenos rely on an automobile for much of their travel,” said Luskin Center project director Juan Matute.

“Based on our study, we expect that rising gasoline prices will naturally shift the demand from conventional combustion cars to electric vehicles,” adds study co-author Jeffrey Dubin, UCLA Anderson School of Management adjunct professor of economics and statistics.“For many buyers, electric vehicles will be hard to ignore,” said Luskin Center director and associate professor of public policy, J.R. DeShazo. “However, the analysis predicts just over 2,000 electric vehicles will be sold in Los Angeles in 2011. This number is due to the limited supply of electric vehicles; even if more residents are inclined to purchase them, it just isn’t possible right now.”

The research team predicts that the supply of electric vehicles will be limited until 2013 or 2014. In 2015, the team predicts that electric vehicles will comprise 9% of new vehicles purchased by Los Angeles residents. One area where the City can have a significant impact is by helping renters and residents of multifamily housing—who comprise about 70% of L.A. residents—access charging areas. Many of these residents do not own their garage, and face difficulties in installing electric vehicle charging equipment at home. Those who park on the street have even greater difficulty accessing charging at home.

UCLA Anderson MBA students Ross Barney, Annamaria Csontos, Jonathan Um, and Nini Wu conducted the year-long study under the direction of Professor Jeffrey Dubin. The research team worked with the City of Los Angeles and the Clinton Climate Initiative to conduct the study.

How to invest in Solar Stocks

Solar Impulse Makes International Flight

Posted on May 15, 2011 by quest

A solar energy plane made the world’s first international flight powered by the sun yesterday to show the potential for pollution-free air travel. The Solar Impulse took off from an airfield at Payerne in western Switzerland in the morning and landed at Brussels airport after a 13-hour flight. “The objective is to demonstrate what we can do with existing technology in terms of renewable energy and energy savings,” project co-founder and pilot Andre Borschberg said by telephone during the flight.

Borschberg believes such solar-harnessing technology can be used to power cars and homes. “It is symbolic to be able to go from one place to another using solar energy,” he said. The Solar Impulse project began in 2003 with a 10-year budget of 90 million euros and has involved engineers from Swiss lift maker Schindler and research aid from Belgian chemicals group Solvay.

The plane, which requires 12,000 solar cells, embarked on its first flight in April 2010 and completed a 26-hour flight, a record flying time for a solar powered aircraft, three months later. With an average flying speed of 70 km/h, Solar Impulse is not an immediate threat to commercial jets, which can easily cruise at more than 10 times the speed. A flight from Geneva from Brussels can take little more than an hour. Project leaders acknowledged it had been a major challenge to fit a slow-flying plane into the commercial air traffic system. Friday’s flight was Solar Impulse’s fifth. Previous flights did not leave Switzerland. A larger prototype is scheduled to fly around the world in 2013.

THE SOLAR CUP

Ninth annual Solar Cup rolls into the third day of competition with hundreds of students from 40 Southern California high school teams racing the solar-powered boats they have built and equipped over the past seven months in a program sponsored by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The annual event is being held at Lake Skinner, Temecula Valley and ends today Sunday at 4PM.