Historic $1-Per-Watt Solar Modules Just Months Away

El Segundo, Calif., June 16, 2011—The photovoltaic (PV) industry appears set to achieve a major milestone with the selling prices of crystalline silicon (c-Si) modules projected to drop to $1 per watt by the first quarter of 2012, a significant benchmark level that could forestall a widely feared dip for solar installations next year and stimulate demand instead, according to new IHS iSuppli (NYSE: IHS) research.

An assessment of this magnitude, bold in its purview and implications, comes in the wake of an accelerated, rapid decline in pricing for deals following the Intersolar Trade Fair, site of the world’s largest PV exhibition, held last week in Munich, Germany.

Going into Intersolar, spot prices from the top Chinese brands, among the major players in the market, had been running at $1.49 per watt for mainstream c-Si modules. By the time Intersolar wound up, prices had fallen to $1.30 per watt, ostensibly hastened by the market’s fear toward a flat—or worse, negative—market in 2012.

“The recent price decline was quickened by top-tier module brands dropping prices to aggressively position themselves, in the face of fears that the industry could be headed toward a down market next year,” said Henning Wicht, senior director and principal analyst, photovoltaics, at IHS. The drops in pricing were spurred by the recent price slide in cells and wafers, with wafers being quoted in the $2.30 per-piece range, down from $3.50 in March.

The figure below shows the IHS iSuppli outlook for the cost of both silicon and non-silicon content, gross margins and prices from top-tier module players, covering the second quarter for each year from 2011 to 2014. While gross margins are projected to range between 10 to 12 percent this quarter, the intense competition in the space will slash margins to between 5 and 9 percent by the second quarter of 2012, IHS iSuppli research indicates.

Solar implications: Bright days ahead?
What this means for the market could be momentous and far-reaching, said Mike Sheppard, analyst for photovoltaics and financial services at IHS. “This trend and milestone is significant in that it opens the door for certain installations to potentially drop to $2.00 per watt, in what one hopes would be an important driver for stimulating demand. Not only could such a development ward off a dip predicted in solar installations for 2012, it also signals that deep-pocketed and lower-cost structured companies will be getting aggressive about pressuring competition out of the market during the next year.”

Another interesting discussion at Intersolar was whether the vertically integrated business model that washed across the PV industry will continue to flourish, even as margins get compressed in this round of price cuts. Can a vertical operation invest in wafers, cells and modules on the one hand, finance downstream projects on the other, and also continue to run world-class operations at each level?

After margins are cut, it will be much more difficult for such vertically integrated operations to sustain the competitive advantage that they once enjoyed, IHS believes. Though many vertical operations will continue to thrive, the space likely will find increased competition from another breed of player—the so-called specialists that will be able to aggressively invest in just one area, and more important, hold their own against their vertically integrated rivals.

For more information on the photovoltaic services of IHS iSuppli, see http://www.isuppli.com/Photovoltaics/Pages/Products.aspx

NEXT GENERATION FLOATING SOLAR HAS ARRIVED

SPG Solar Floatovoltaics® Goes Beyond Renewable Energy, Delivering A Solution for Water Conservation

Novato, CA—April 20, 2011—SPG Solar Inc.®, the company that introduced the world’s first operational floating solar array in 2007, today announced the availability of it’s next generation in floating solar technology. Redesigned and engineered to be cost competitive, SPG Solar Floatovoltaics™ makes it possible for commercial, industrial and government users with little available rooftop or land space to float solar on water, providing triple benefits: energy savings, water savings and environmental benefits. Using proven and cost effective floating technology, fresh water irrigation ponds, lakes, or reservoirs become revenue-generating, power producing platforms.

“Floatovoltaics has changed the way solar power is now considered, making it an option where never before possible,” said SPG Solar CEO and President Chris Robine.” “Now, customers around the world can install a floating system that is priced competitively to ground based, single –axis tracking solar systems.”

When available open space is limited, Floatovoltaics provides a water-based solution. Where water is at a premium, the system offers significant conservation benefits:

• Reduces water evaporation up to 70%,
• Improves water quality by providing coverage from the sun that minimizes algae growth and reduces the need for harsh water treatment chemicals, and
• Provides shade below the panels, lowering the water temperature and improving power output from the solar panels.

The Floatovoltaics power generating system works the same way as in all other solar photovoltaic (PV) installations. It is quality engineered for a system lifetime of 20+ years, features no moving parts and requires limited maintenance.

Floatovoltaics technology is anticipated to be particularly valuable for agribusinesses, water agencies, wastewater treatment facilities, and utilities; among other applications.

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New Energy Enters into Cooperative Research & Development Agreement with
U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Columbia, MD – March 29, 2011 – New Energy Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: NENE, NENED – temporary), is pleased to announce that as part of its efforts to advance the commercial development of SolarWindow(TM), capable of generating electricity on see-thru glass, the Company has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado. NREL is one of the world’s most respected and advanced solar-photovoltaic research institutions.

“The addition of NREL’s world-class solar research group to our ongoing efforts at the University of South Florida marks a significant step forward for our Company and our SolarWindow(TM) technology,” explained Mr. John A. Conklin, President & CEO of New Energy Technologies, Inc.

“The goals of this CRADA move us definitively towards product development, important to the commercialization of SolarWindow(TM).”

Under terms of the CRADA, NREL researchers will make use of the Company’s exclusive intellectual property and NREL’s background intellectual property in order to work towards specific product development goals, including efforts to:

* Further bolster SolarWindow(TM) efficiency and transparency;
· Boost electrical power (current and voltage) output;
· Optimize the application of the active layer coatings which make it possible for SolarWindow(TM) to generate electricity on glass surfaces;
· Increase the size of the active layer in SolarWindow(TM), key to increasing the size of the final commercial product; and
· Develop improved electricity-generating coatings by enhancing performance, processing, reliability, and durability.

“We’re always eager to help industry advance renewable energy breakthroughs towards commercial products. I welcome the opportunity to work with New Energy Technologies on the development of its SolarWindow(TM) technology,” stated Ryne Raffaelle, director of NREL’s National Center for Photovoltaics.

There are nearly 5 million commercial buildings in America, according to the Energy Information Administration, and more than 80 million single detached homes. New Energy’s SolarWindow(TM) technology is under development for commercial application in such buildings.

New Energy Technologies, Inc.
New Energy Technologies, Inc., together with its wholly owned subsidiaries, is a developer of next generation alternative and renewable energy technologies. Among the Company’s technologies under development are:

* MotionPower(TM) roadway systems for generating electricity by capturing the kinetic energy produced by moving vehicles – a patent-pending technology, the subject of nine patent applications in the United States and two international patent filings. An estimated 250 million registered vehicles drive more than six billion miles on America’s roadways, every day; and

* SolarWindow(TM) technologies which enable see-thru windows to generate electricity by ‘spraying’ their glass surfaces with New Energy’s electricity-generating coatings. These solar coatings are less than 1/10th the thickness of ‘thin’ films and make use of the world’s smallest functional solar cells, shown to successfully produce electricity in a published peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy of the American Institute of Physics.

Through established relationships with universities, research institutions, and commercial partners, we strive to identify technologies and business opportunities on the leading edge of renewable energy innovation. Unique to our business model is the use of established research infrastructure owned by the various institutions we deal with, saving us significant capital which would otherwise be required for such costs as land and building acquisition, equipment and capital equipment purchases, and other start up expenses. As a result, we are able to benefit from leading edge research while employing significantly less capital than conventional organizations. For additional information, visit: www.newenergytechnologiesinc.com.

Dear Friends,

We think it’s time cleantech grew up and learned to play with the big boys of energy and consumer goods.  That means learning cost down and scale like nobody’s business.  We think it can.  We think green is going mainstream – for good. We think LEDs are going to win.  We think wind and solar power will continue to grow, and bear the bruises to prove it.  We think EVs may have a shot, but have it to prove. We think climate change will be tackled, and beaten, but it will be a long hard road.  We think energy storage and cellulosic biofuels are not yet teething, and investors there will pay the price.  We think water tech may yet be a real sector on the back of shale gas.  We think smart grid is the sine qua non of cleantech’s future.  We think the future of cleantech means fewer venture capitalists, more globalization, and more energy companies at the table, and scale like you’ve never seen it before.

2010 has been a year of change and learning.

We learned about The Quantitative Easing, and we learned government stimulus does not fix economies, but stock markets can rise anyway. We learned to beware of Greeks (and anyone) who borrows too much, but we didn’t bother to take the lesson to heart (yet).Cap and trade survived in California, and the international climate change community breathed a big sigh of relief from a successful Cancun, but healthcare and a moribund economy crowded out a comprehensive climate or energy bill in the US.Arguably this was the year that China passed the US in energy consumption (barely two years after taking the carbon emissions crown), and Japan in GDP to become the second largest economy, and oil prices ended on a high note (yes we do think those have something in common).  It also reached 50% of global coal consumption.  China of course, officially disputed the first and the last, and accepted the second, but provides no data.)Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) (Electric vehicles), GM, and Codexis (NASDAW:CDXS) (bioenergy) priced IPOs, as did Molycorp (NYSE:MCP) (rare earth mining), but once high flyer Solyndra (CIGS PV) did not.  We learned the Chinese like IPOing things just like the rest of us, and we saw the nascent launch of EVs with the first shipments of Leafs and Volts to an unsuspecting public. 2011 will (maybe) tell us how much change Nissan and GM will see from those launches.And after 5 years, Cleantechblog.com moved off of Blogger and onto a new look on WordPress.  Finally!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Jane Capital saw a year of change as well:

We were excited in 2010 to see our Carbonflow venture secure a CEO and raise a second round of finance, and Zenergy Power plc (AIM:ZEN) secure a new Chairman and a

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One of the most popular Hybrid cars on the market today is the Toyota Prius. It is both compact and economical, with a starting price of just $22,400. The price puts the Prius within the realms of possibility for the everyday, although environmentally-conscious, individual.

The third generation of Toyota Prius, the 2010 model, has EPA ratings of 51 mpg in the city, and 49 mpg on the highway. That’s pretty good even for a hybrid, and is a step up from earlier years’ Toyota Prius models.

But now, a new pricing structure is lined up for this hybrid; and the Toyota Prius I, II, III, IV, and V are reportedly already available.

The lowest-prices model is the Toyota Prius I, which should run for around $21,000, while the Prius V starts at $27,670.

While the new line of Priuses will include a range of features, it gets better.. A rooftop solar panel package is available for the Toyota Prius II, III, and IV Models – although not for the V.

The solar roof costs between $3,600 and $4,500, and uses solar energy to supplement the vehicle’s power and get even better mileage. This package also includes a solar-powered ventilation system, a navigation system, a power tilt/slide moon roof, and remote-control AC (for those of us who just can’t be bothered to lean forward and turn the knob?)

With this new combination of hybrid technology and solar power, an entirely different range of fuel efficiency may be possible. The solar powered version is said to make mileages of up to 70 miles per gallon possible, under ideal circumstances.

If you live in or often travel in a sunny climate, a solar-powered roof might go a long ways in reducing your gas bill and carbon emissions.

Under some (somewhat theoretical) circumstances, the driver of a solar-powered Toyota Prius might never need to buy gas at all.

But minimally, a driver of a solar powered Prius who uses the vehicle’s “eco” settings and who follows basic guidelines can expect to fill up on gas far less often – so infrequently, in fact, that he should probably take care not to forget to stop for gas at all.

About the author: Megan Barlow helps others learn how they can live greener and more environmentally friendly lives.

To learn more, visit her blog, Green Gadget Blog.

In these times of worldwide warming and economic forces, mass are looking for ways to save and preserve vigor for their own financial benefit as well as bestow to the move to help solve the environmental issues we face.
There are many ways for people to preserve energy and use more renewable, environmentally social vigor sources. One of the most talked about option energy authors is solar force.

DIY solar power kits address these effects by allowing home owners the ability to execute their own solar force organizations on a budget.

The question remains though, just how easy is to assemble your own DIY solar ability kit? Well to put it bluntly its almost child’s play, there is nonetheless one master ingredient you must have and that is an excellent guide that will clearly and simply walk you through the action of assembling your own DIY solar force kit.
Once you have gotten your hand on one of these guides, you will see that all the cloths you need to put your DIY solar power kit are visible from your local hardware store. There is nothing special or hard to source need, simply check of the list of materials and tools allowed and follow the blueprints and commands (depending on the guide you have purchased this will either be in handbook or video format or both).

In setting up my DIY solar force kit, I got my youngest son Harry complex and at 13 he found it a snap to follow along with the instructions from the guide we purchased.

With our panels put together and place on our cap we are now projected to see welfares, especially in prices of money saved off our commonly power bill, I estimate so far we are running at about 40% less in terms of conforming energy sources and as we total more panels this will gain.

The consciousness it has set up in Hassle as to energy preservation and worldwide warming is priceless.

Ed Ring

Even if California only ends up with 25% renewable electricity within the next decade or two, there is going to be a staggering amount of investment pouring into wind and solar power, and with intermittent sources of energy, massive storage infrastructure is just as necessary as the generating infrastructure. In our analysis of Prop. 7, California’s Proposition 7, the initiative that calls for 50% renewable energy by 2025, we estimated compliance would require about 500 gigawatt-hours of renewable electricity generating capacity per day. For wind power, based on installation costs of $2.5 million per megawatt ($2.5 billion per gigawatt), and yields of 17.5%, this would require a total investment of nearly $300 billion. The estimated total cost for solar, at today’s prices, was considerably higher than this (bear in mind the cost for solar energy is going to drop faster and further than the cost for wind energy in the coming years). But what about the cost for storage infrastructure?

In a perfect world, parked electric cars will harvest intermittant energy – wind at night, solar during mid-day, and release that energy during the demand peak.

In a perfect world, 2nd and 3rd generation smart metering systems at homes will allow everyone’s car to act as a micro utility, an automated fiduciary, purchasing power when the spot price is low and selling power when the spot price is high.

In a perfect world, cars that store 10-50 kilowatt-hours of electricity will buffer intermittent sources, and storage infrastructure requirements will be reduced. Will electric cars proliferate as fast as intermittent generators? Will they always be parked and collecting power at the right times? Apart from electric cars performing this function, how much storage capacity are we going to need?

In California the demand peak is around 50 gigawatts, and the off-peak minimum can get as low as 20 gigawatts. The time of peak demand is between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m., when appliances are operating along with flat screen TVs and PCs. During this period, when the sun is down and the wind yields aren’t yet at maximum output, at least 25% of California’s daily electricity draw is consumed, about 250 gigawatt-hours. It is reasonable to assume most of the renewable energy used to fulfill this demand will have to come from stored wind, and stored solar. So what would it cost to store 100 gigawatt-hours of energy?

Yesterday we had the opportunity to speak briefly with David MacMillan, CEO of Megawatt Storage Farms, Inc., a company that is developing large scale electricity storage using NAS (sodium-sulphur) batteries. He claims that not including site acquisition and preparation, storage technology using NAS batteries would come to about $350,000 per megawatt-hour. This means the cost to load balance California’s grid, should 50% of her energy come from solar or wind sources, would probably run about $35 billion dollars. This figure doesn’t include transmission upgrades, nor does it include site acquisition and preparation, but it also doesn’t take into account the potential of electric vehicles (or other private decentralized storage solutions) to absorb some of the required storage capacity. Objections to renewable energy in general, and proposition 7 in particular, probably cannot rest on the storage and load balancing challenges, insofar as they only represent about 10% of the required investment.

For more information about utility scale electricity storage technologies, reference our posts Utility Electricity Storage, General Compression, Solar Thermal Storage, and Gridpoint’s Storage+, to name a few. For more information about sodium sulphur batteries, visit the technical specifications page for NAS Batteries on the website of NGK Insulators, Ltd., a major manufacturer of these batteries. For more information on how these batteries work, and where they are being deployed, read About Sodium-Sulfur (NaS) Batteries, on the excellent Fraser Domain Energy Blog (where have you gone?), or the USA Today report New battery packs powerful punch.

Ed Ring is the Editor of EcoWorld, reporting on clean technology and the status of species and ecosystems.

With all the advances in green energy technology, it is easier than ever to start converting your home into a green energy home. A green energy home utilizes renewable resources to provide electricity, hot water, heat and peace of mind.

There are several ways to implement your green energy home plan. The first is solar energy. In a green energy home you can install solar hot water panels which heat and store water for use and you can install solar panels, which use photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight into electricity. These systems can be pricing if purchasing them and having them installed by a professional, but there are many great resources available to build your own solar panels and solar hot water systems that can reduce the cost greatly.

If you are just building your home, a great way to make it a green energy home is to implement passive solar design during construction. This means taking advantage of south facing sides of the house for heating and cooling. By installing lots of highly efficient windows and heat retaining bricks and stone on your south facing areas, you are taking advantage of passive solar techniques to develop your green energy home.

Another addition to the green energy home would be a windmill. Windmills are used to generate electricity from the renewable resource wind. Windmills can be installed on rooftops or in yards and offer pollution free electric. Windmills can be purchased from retailers or there are a wide variety of affordable kits available for the motivated do-it-yourselfers to handle the implementation of their own green energy home plans.

If you have a stream on your property, you may also add to the efficiency of your green energy home with hydroelectric power. This is also a great pollution free option that is easy to maintain and works as long as there is water available.

The ultimate green energy home would combine all of these resources. By using wind, water and solar to generate electricity you are looking not only at huge savings and possible profits from your electricity usage, but you would truly be green as each of these options contributes little to global warming. To further combine passive solar design and solar hot water systems, you are reducing your energy needs exponentially and truly living the dream of going green.

A green energy home doesn’t require more maintenance than traditional homes. Solar technologies require little to no maintenance and wind and water turbines require only regular oiling for peak performance. There is no better time to create your green energy home and start living your dreams in green.

It will be very helpful if people have better understanding about “what is solar energy”. It may help ,many people to find a new way to overcome the problem of fuel energy shortage. What’s more, let’s find the answer of “what is solar energy” in this article.

Actually, solar energy is the sun’s power exploitation. That is the first answer for the question of “what is solar energy”. It can either be used instantly or stored in cells for later use. Web can utilize solar energy in three different ways: solar photovoltaic (PV), active solar energy, and passive solar energy.

What is Passive Solar Energy?

Passive solar energy applies the position and orientation of rooms to get the most out of the sun’s warming effect on the room. It also uses effective insulation and air-tight construction to lessen heat loss from solar-warmed rooms. The use of passive solar can be done with very little time or money. In fact, new homes being built today are built with these principles because they assist save energy costs.

What is Active Solar Energy?

The alteration of solar energy into high temperature is engaged in the active solar energy. It is used to heat the air and the water in your home. You can heat the air by using the solar energy then distribute it by using pumps and fans. At the present times, you can find that many homes around the world already use solar energy to warmth the water in their homes.

What is PV Solar Energy?

Photovoltaic (PV) solar energy utilizes sunlight to convert the energy of the sun into useable electricity. While PV cells don’t entail direct sunlight, the charge will be larger when the light is stronger. This is the kind of energy that is being used when you see the large collection panels on top of a building.

Lots of small electronics have already used PV energy such as calculators and outdoor lights. It is increasingly being used to supply power to houses that may not have access to the power grid. For owner who want to turn to clean, renewable energy rather than using the existing power grid, panels are becoming easier to find and less costly to set up.

What is Solar Energy’s Future?

To answer the question “what is solar energy’s future”, it requires us to think about the condition of energy at present times. Some experts forecast that solar energy will become one of the major selection energies that we utilize to power our lives. We have known that the cost of solar energy is expensive but some experts predict that it will alter in nearly time. Then lot of people will choose to move to the cleanest and renewable energy sources for their life.

Are you still at sea of knowing more about what is solar energy actually? Just look around your best answer herein!

DIY Solar Project

Nice article on Always On today in which Mark Zanoli, managing director at J.P.Morgan comments on the state of solar investing, which of course will determine the course of this industry on the cusp. He is the head of clean tech investing at his firm and he focuses on emerging technologies.

He does not see a shakeout in the solar industry ala the dot com bust due to recent market fluctuations but rather he sees the demand for solar fueling its rise in the market over the next few years.

He’s bullish on solar right now. A froth of over-eager financing in the last few years pushed valuations of unproven solar firms too high and a shakeout of weaker firms is inevitable, he said.

But voracious energy demand and the technology’s flexibility ensures plenty of solar firms will nonetheless succeed, according to the investor.

Businesses are gravitating towards solar as a way to keep operating costs down, he said. The cost of solar installation may be above market electricity rates today, but amortizing it over 25 years makes solar pricing competitive. Instead of facing volatile private energy prices, corporate bookkeepers get predictability, Mr. Zanoli said.

Intel Spins off Solar Energy Technology; Intel Capital Invests in SpectraWatt
Cogentrix Energy, PCG Clean Energy and Technology Fund, Solon AG also Invest in SpectraWatt to Deliver Solar Cells

SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 16, 2008 – To spur new development and demand for renewable energy sources, Intel Corporation is spinning off key assets of a start-up business effort inside Intel’s New Business Initiatives group to form an independent company called SpectraWatt Inc. Intel Capital, Intel’s global investment organization, is leading a $50 million investment round in SpectraWatt and is joined by Cogentrix Energy, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., PCG Clean Energy and Technology Fund (“CETF”) and Solon AG. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2008.

SpectraWatt will manufacture and supply photovoltaic cells to solar module makers. In addition to focusing on advanced solar cell technologies, SpectraWatt will concentrate development efforts on improvements in current manufacturing processes and capabilities to reduce the cost of photovoltaic energy generation. SpectraWatt expects to break ground on its manufacturing and advanced technology development facility in Oregon in the second half of 2008 with first product shipments expected by mid-2009.

“SpectraWatt is a great example of technology resulting from entrepreneurial efforts inside Intel,” said Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital and Intel executive vice president. “This is an important investment for Intel Capital in the growing cleantech sector and we look forward to working with the company to support its expansion.”

Solar cells are the discrete components in a solar energy generation system responsible for converting sunlight to electricity. The end-user market segment for solar technology in 2007 was approximately $30 billion, a 50 percent increase from 2006, according to Photon Consulting. Solar industry growth of 30 to 40 percent annually is expected to continue in years to come as the economics of solar, which is currently approximately twice the cost of delivered retail electricity on a per kilowatt basis, begins to approach that of traditional electricity-generation technologies.

Intel has a long history of commitment to the environment and has applied technology innovation to drive energy-efficiencies within its own products and operations. The development of a small solar business within Intel is consistent with the philosophy to protect the environment as well as seek new business opportunities. Intel is on track to reduce its total worldwide greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent from 2004 levels through 2010, and also recently introduced lead- and halogen-free microprocessors. Additionally, Intel currently tops the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power list as the largest purchaser of renewable energy credits.

“The formation of SpectraWatt is an important step forward in the renewable energy market,” said Andrew B. Wilson, SpectraWatt CEO and former general manager in the Intel New Business Initiatives group. “We are pleased to work with these companies in the goal of moving toward long-term national energy independence.”

“We are very proud to be part of this exciting new venture,” said Thomas Krupke, SOLON AG CEO. “With the experience and commitment of all companies involved, we are confident to reach our common goal — advancing solar technology to a new stage.”

About Intel Capital
Intel Capital, Intel’s global investment organization, makes equity investments in innovative technology start-ups and companies worldwide. Intel Capital invests in a broad range of companies offering hardware, software, and services targeting enterprise, home, mobility, health, consumer Internet, semiconductor manufacturing and cleantech. Since 1991, Intel Capital has invested more than US$7.5 billion in approximately 1,000 companies in 45 countries. In that timeframe, 168 portfolio companies have gone public on various exchanges around the world and 212 were acquired or participated in a merger. In 2007, Intel Capital invested about US$639 million in 166 deals with approximately 37 percent of funds invested outside the United States. For more information on Intel Capital and its differentiated advantages, visit www.intelcapital.com.

About Cogentrix Energy, LLC
Cogentrix Energy, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., is a leading owner and operator of independent power and cogeneration assets in North America. Cogentrix is a primary Goldman Sachs platform for the development and operation of both conventional and renewable power generation in North America and selected international markets.

About The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc
Goldman Sachs is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a wide range of services worldwide to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high net worth individuals. Founded in 1869, it is one of the oldest and largest investment banking firms. The firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other major financial centers around the world.

About PCG Clean Energy and Technology Fund
The PCG Clean Energy and Technology Fund is a co-mingled fund of funds and co-investment vehicle dedicated to investing across the spectrum of the global clean energy and technology value chain. The fund is managed by a dedicated cleantech investment team within PCG Asset Management, which oversees more than $15 billion of private equity commitments through a combination of fund-of-funds, separate accounts and advisory relationships and is based in La Jolla, Calif.

About Solon AG
SOLON AG für Solartechnik is one of the largest solar module manufacturers in Europe and a leading supplier of photovoltaic systems for large-scale solar power plants. The SOLON Group has subsidiaries in Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and the United States, and employs more than 700 people worldwide. The SOLON Group’s core business is the manufacture of solar modules in various performance categories and of complete photovoltaic systems for the construction of solar power plants.

Well the Napa Valley wine country is certainly a wonderful place for growing terrific wine grapes, a fantastic travel destination, and now one of its finest wineries has set a standard for going green with solar power. Far Niente is one of the Napa Valley’s premier wineries with a historic tradition that goes back to 1885.

This month they have gone on line with a solar panel array that provides the entire electrical supply for the winery, tasting rooms, cellar, and agribusiness operations. This was a risky financial undertaking for Far Niente but the owners felt it was necessary.

From the Far Niente release:

Napa Valley wine producer Far Niente has gone live with its “Floatovoltaic™” solar array, the first-ever system and technology of its kind in the solar industry. The Floatovoltaic installation creatively couples solar power with water, saving valuable vineyard acreage from being sacrificed for land-mounted arrays.

Far Niente’s Floatovoltaic system involves securing nearly 1,000 solar panels on pontoons, then floating the pontoons on the winery’s vineyard irrigation pond. Combined with a section of about 1,300 panels located on land adjacent to the pond, the array will generate 400 kilowatts at peak output, enough to offset the winery’s annual power usage and provide a net-zero energy bill.

The hope is that costs will be recovered, grapes will grow into terrific wines, and more Napa operations will foloow suit and use solar to power their operations. With innovative ideas like this who wouldn’t?

Would you like to listen to the keynote speech by General Motors’ Larry Burns in which he makes a call for a vast expansion of hydrogen stations to fuel the current and future generations of fuel cell vehicles? As a result of recent studies completed with Shell Hydrogen, he stated with confidence that a hydrogen fueling infrastructure is less challenging and less costly than many people think.

Last month, the National Hydrogen Association wrapped up its Annual Conference and Hydrogen Expo, held this year in Sacramento, California.

H2Gen’s Sandy Thomas presented the findings of a comprehensive, life cycle analysis of hybrid, plug-in, ethanol and hydrogen vehicles showing that while all of these fuel and technology pathways should be pursued for near-term benefits.

And finally:

SMUD opens hydrogen vehicle fueling station powered by the sun

Will be used to fuel SMUD hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles as well as others in the region
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is taking a bold step into the future of
automotive technology. Earlier this month SMUD formally opened a solar-powered hydrogen fueling
station for fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEV).

The station is part of a joint SMUD, BP, Ford and U.S. Department of Energy project to
demonstrate FCEVs and generation of hydrogen from renewable sources. The station produces hydrogen
onsite using power from the sun produced by a large solar panel array. The hydrogen will be used to fuel
SMUD FCEVs and other hydrogen-powered vehicles in the region. The project is the next step in a
nearly two-decade-long effort by SMUD to improve local air quality by advancing alternative-fuel clean
transportation, as well as cleaner power sources.

Solar attic fan is the ultimate simple and cost effective solution for a well known problem that many home owners are facing every day. Moisture and mold destroys slowly but effectively the house infrastructure. Solar attic fan can fight this irritating problem.

You are well familiar with the fact that hot air is lighter then cold air and therefore goes up. During the day, the sun hit your walls and roof, this heat inside your house is aggregated and eventually is trapped in your attic which is the highest place in your house and this hot energy has nowhere to go.

That trapped heat in your attic is “great” condition to moisture and the development of mold. If you have an attic solar fan then it will “push” away all the trapped hot air and helps the humidity to spread away and will remove all those optimal conditions to any mold development.

The global demand for more environmentally friendly options for fuel, energy and food continues to grow and this growth is only expected to continue as concern about climate change increases. With this growth, more and better options for solar lighting are coming to the marketplace. Whether you need lighting for inside or outside your home, there are excellent, practical solar lighting options for you to choose from.

The advantages of using solar lights are many. The up front cost of solar lighting was once a problem for many people, but that has changed. The technology of solar lighting has continued to improve and the initial costs have gotten more reasonable. With the added advantage that the cost of solar energy is free, solar lighting is experiencing greater demand than ever before. Nowadays, solar landscape lights are almost ubiquitous in many neighborhoods.

What’s available for inside your home:

As the demand for energy continues to grow, the world is looking to diversify energy platforms. Solar power is mentioned continually, but is it really viable?

If you step back form the debate on energy sources, you’ll realize something quickly. Solar energy is already the vastly dominant source of energy we use. It just comes in a form we don’t really contemplate, which is oil. The first step of oil formation is the photosynthesis of sunlight by extremely small plankton like plants millions of years ago.

These days, we need a quicker way to convert sunlight into energy. There is more than enough energy in a day’s worth of sunlight to meet our energy needs for a year. The question is how to harness it in an efficient and cost effective manner. Currently, we are failing when it comes to both elements, but are making progress.

The solar panel has always been the prime component of the solar industry, but it has one major flaw. It is incredibly inefficient. It traditionally converts 6 to 10 percent of the energy hitting it in sunrays into usable energy. Recent trends have pushed this into the mid teens. The really exciting news is new technology could push this number into the 40 to 60 percent conversion rates. If this occurs, the viability of solar becomes much greater because a smaller amount of panel is needed to produce vastly more energy.
Another area where solar is making jumps is in new products. The solar panel has its limits, but few every thought beyond it. Now various companies are. The advent of solar dots is exciting a lot of people. Solar dots work by converting the energy in sunlight at a molecular level.

The dots are actually quantum nano dots. Yes, nano. They work by forming a crystalline structure of certain materials. When sunlight hits them, they release multiple electrons. These electrons, of course, form an electrical current that can be harnessed for use. Since the dots are on such a small scale, they could literally be imbedded in just about any structure exposed to the sun.

Solar dots are expected to be cheap and easy to make. The big, bulky solar panels will most likely become a thing of the past. With a high rate of efficiency and low cost, they will truly make solar power a viable energy platform for our needs.