Largest US Solar Factory Being Built In Colorado

Posted on October 16, 2011 by quest

GE has announced plans to build its new solar panel factory in Aurora, Colorado. When completed, the advanced manufacturing facility will create 355 jobs in Colorado and will be larger than any existing solar panel factory in the country today. GE anticipates the new factory will first start up earlier than expected with the first panels coming off the line in 2012 with commercial availability in 2013. “This is great news for Colorado and further proof that our state is emerging as a center of innovation. GE’s move to Aurora takes advantage of Colorado’s clean energy resources and a collaborative business environment that is committed to helping the company succeed,” said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. “We look forward to supporting GE as it fosters its technical innovation and research capabilities in Colorado.”

GE will locate the factory in an existing building in Aurora, just east of Denver. This location, which also is in proximity to GE’s existing solar center of excellence, enables an accelerated start-up schedule with production equipment installation beginning in January 2012. At capacity, the new factory will produce enough panels per year to power 80,000 homes and will be larger than 11 football fields. When complete, the new solar factory will highlight a $600 million investment in GE’s solar business. “I am so proud GE is building the largest solar panel factory in the nation right here in the 7th Congressional District of Colorado. This plant will create over 350 jobs and reinforces Colorado’s leading role in renewable energy. This solar technology was originally developed at NREL and further highlights how this world-class lab continues to partner with the private sector to create long-term jobs and bolster our nation’s energy security. Making things here in Colorado and America ensures we will make it in America,” stated U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter.

“Working with our Colorado-based solar team, we were able to achieve record efficiencies in our solar panels in record time,” said Victor Abate, vice president of GE’s Renewable Energy business. “The Colorado location will allow us to deliver our technology roadmap faster and commercialize industry-leading panel efficiencies sooner. We also look forward to continuing to build our relationships with Colorado’s local, state and federal officials who have been extremely helpful as we moved through the site selection process.” “This is terrific news for Aurora, for Colorado and for solar, and it shows the tremendous potential renewable energy holds to create jobs and power our economy,” said U.S. Sen. Mark Udall.

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Bioplastics Producer Expands Green Investment

Solar Energy Revolution Star Trek and The Wizard of Oz

Posted on October 13, 2011 by quest

Remember that Orwellian scene? A new female prototype…running from convention, past the drones of conformity on the sideline…and than tossing the hammer of change – shattering what appeared to be an invincible bigger than life, fire breathing and all knowing figure to bits. And with that the personal computer movement was off and running. Steve Jobs and the talented people within the service of that enterprise captured something that drew us and continues to draw us closer. Empowering us with technology that was once only available to the few…but is now available to the many. Like Star Trek, Apple projects a world where the question remains: Do the needs of the few out way the needs of the many? And look at the new IPhone. What’s next…Beam me up Scotty?

Technological advancements always seem to outpace human ability to adapt to change. The solar, renewable energy and green movement is set to usher in incredible developments in the economy, people and the environment. It is not without some irony that we find ourselves as a nation struggling with outdated political philosophies and business practices that simply are not as effective as they once were. The impact of the Occupy Wall Street and XL Pipeline protests are spelling out many of the broad political, business and environmental issues that America needs to address. Is it not apparent that solar and renewable energy is a solution?

Apple 1984 Ad

The legacy of Steve Jobs and the times we’re in now offer great possibilities. In simple terms look what they did, and continue to do they do extremely well. Apple constantly innovates, redesigns and reduces the size of its devices; while improving efficiency. Who knows one day the size of a rooftop solar panel system could be the size of IPhone or laptop. Could a solar energy system be portable enough to power your car?

One of Apple’s successful ad campaigns pronounced….“Think Different.” Yet in practice it appears Apple actually just doesn’t think different…they do different. Now as a new chapter in the life of America unfolds; we can all come to some understanding that in order to change the world, we must first change ourselves. By Richard Andrews

Electric Vehicle Home Solar Charging On The Move

Hawaii Going Solar With SunPower Solar Farm

Posted on October 13, 2011 by quest

The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission has approved a contract for SunPower to sell energy to Hawaiian Electric Company from a 5-megawatt solar photovoltaic farm planned for Kalaeloa in West Oahu. SunPower Corp. will design, build and operate the facility. Subject to receipt of applicable permits, SunPower plans to begin construction this year and complete the solar farm within five months. It will be located on land leased from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands at Roosevelt Avenue and Boxer Road. “We welcome this approval of our continuing effort to add as much renewable energy as possible to our island grid,” said Robbie Alm, Hawaiian Electric executive vice president. “Hawaii is a national leader in adding solar watts per person to our grids and this project will help reduce our use of imported oil and increase our solar leadership.”

The SunPower agreement represents the first utility-scale solar project on Oahu approved by the PUC. The contract is the outcome of Hawaiian Electric’s request for proposals for renewable energy projects for Oahu issued under the PUC’s competitive bidding framework in 2008. “With SunPower’s high-efficiency technology, Hawaiian Electric will benefit from reliable, cost-effective, guaranteed performance,” said Jim Pape, president of SunPower’s residential and commercial business group. “The solar farm will contribute clean, renewable solar power to Oahu while generating revenue for the important work of the Hawaiian Homelands department on behalf of native Hawaiians.”

SunPower will install high-efficiency SunPower solar panels on a SunPower T0 Tracker system which moves the solar panels to follow the sun during the day. According to SunPower this increases sunlight capture by up to 25 percent over fixed-tilt systems, while significantly reducing land requirements. Based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates, the solar farm will produce enough renewable power to avoid almost 11,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, equivalent to removing 37,600 cars from Hawaii’s roads over the 20-year term of the power purchase agreement.

Bill McKibben - Keystone Pipeline & Occupy Wall Street

Solar Energy Has Massive Potential In The Himalayas

Posted on October 12, 2011 by quest

Mention prime geography for generation of solar energy, and people tend to think of hot deserts. But a new study concludes that some of the world’s coldest landscapes — including the Himalaya Mountains, the Andes, and even Antarctica – could become Saudi Arabias of solar. The research appears in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Kotaro Kawajiri and colleagues explain that the potential for generating electricity with renewable solar energy depends heavily on geographic location. Arid and semi-arid areas with plenty of sunshine long have been recognized as good solar sites. However, the scientists point out that, as a result of the limited data available for critical weather-related conditions on a global scale, gaps still exist in knowledge about the best geographical locations for producing solar energy. To expand that knowledge, they used one established technique to estimate global solar energy potential using the data that are available. The technique takes into account the effects of temperature on the output of solar cells. Future work will consider other variables, such as transmission losses and snow fall.

The Himalaya

As expected, they found that many hot regions such as the U.S. desert southwest are ideal locations for solar arrays. However, they also found that many cold regions at high elevations receive a lot of sunlight — so much so that their potential for producing power from the sun is even higher than in some desert areas. Kawajiri and colleagues found, for instance, that the Himalayas, which include Mt. Everest, could be an ideal locale for solar fields that generate electricity for the fast-expanding economy of the People’s Republic of China.

Green Economy Losing Steam?! I’m Seeing Red!

Solar Car Team Revs Up For World Solar Challenge

Posted on October 12, 2011 by quest

Since the 1980s, engineers have been building, and racing solar cars. With software from Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp., the University of Michigan (U-M) Solar Car Team has designed a car to compete in the World Solar Challenge in Australia this month. A six-time winner of the American National Championships, the U-M team is competing in the World Solar Challenge—and the car design is lighter and more aerodynamic than ever before. Since 2006 U-M has used SolidWorks software to become the number 1 ranked collegiate solar car team in North America. Next week they will compete on the world stage driving 1800 miles across Australia thanks to the work of over 100 students in various disciplines at U-M. Quantum, the single-seat race vehicle, will travel as far as it can until 5pm each afternoon powered by the sun and 5kW hours of stored energy (the same amount of energy that it takes to power a hair-dryer) or on the recovered kinetic energy from the vehicle.

“Only one U.S. team has ever won the World Solar Challenge,” said Chris Hilger, Business Director of U-M Solar. “This year, we believe we have a winning car design due to the improved aerodynamic shell and significantly lighter weight. SolidWorks helped us model each part to be as small, light, and effective as possible, and this contributes significantly to the car’s speed and maneuverability.”When designing the solar car, the U-M team found systems integration to be the most difficult challenge. Mechanical parts need to be small and light, in order to fit into as small an automotive shell as possible. The U-M team relied upon SolidWorks 3D CAD software to model all of the car components, and determined the amount of space needed for each component. The result is a car that is 30 percent more aerodynamic and 200 pounds lighter than the previous version.

“The U-M Solar Car Team has been able to achieve groundbreaking results with a lighter and faster car,” said Marie Planchard, director of education at Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks. “This extraordinary team is poised to take the lead at the World Solar Challenge, and we’re proud to have contributed to a stellar—and hopefully winning—design.”

Electric Vehicles Driving Energy To The Grid

UN Secretary Calls For ‘Clean Energy Revolution’

Posted on October 11, 2011 by quest

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for a “clean energy revolution” to help the estimated three billion people that lack modern power and urged countries to recognize the impact that energy security has on all aspects of development. “Three billion people rely on charcoal or wood for cooking and heating. They are energy-poor. And energy poverty translates into grinding, dehumanizing poverty,” he told participants at an energy conference in Oslo, Norway. “We need energy not only to be universal, [we] need it to be clean – to be sustainable as well. We cannot continue to burn our way to prosperity. The only way to minimize the risks of dangerous climate change is by ensuring that energy is sustainable.” The Secretary-General stressed that sustainable energy is critical for all aspects of human progress and said a departure from existing practices is needed to achieve the goal of universal energy access by 2030.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), financing universal access to modern energy services would cost only about three per cent of total global investments in energy.“Energy poverty is a threat to the achievement all of the MDGs. It holds back economic growth and job creation. We require a radical departure from current practices and existing realities.

That is why we are calling for practical and large-scale action,” he said. To achieve the universal energy access goal, Mr. Ban launched the Sustainable Energy for All initiative last month, which has three global targets: providing universal access to modern energy services, doubling energy efficiency, and doubling the share of renewable energy in the world’s energy supply. The initiative will have input from the private, government and civil society sectors to develop its agenda for the next two decades. Participants at the “Energy for all – financing access for the poor” conference explored innovative financing mechanisms that can help countries and regions implement their energy plans. In addition to organizing the conference, Norway launched its Energy+ Initiative, which aims to help mobilize private capital and public resources in support of Sustainable Energy for All.