Solar Power

  The global market for grid-connected residential photovoltaic (PV) solar installations coupled with energy storage is predicted to grow tenfold to reach more than 900 megawatts (MW) in 2018, up from just 90 MW in 2014, according to new analysis from IHS Technology (NYSE: IHS). This expanding opportunity for PV companies and battery manufacturers largely will be driven by the …

The Seattle Mariners Swing for the Fences with Solar at the Team’s Arizona Training Facility, Provided by Healthy Planet Partners, KYOCERA and Sky Engineering Healthy Planet Partners, LLC (HPP), a Clean Energy Solutions Fund that finances, implements and maintains distributed energy and energy efficiency projects that optimize performance in commercial buildings, and Kyocera Solar, Inc. announced today the completion of …

The United States’ solar market hit a major milestone in the second quarter of this year, with more than half a million homes and businesses now generating solar energy. According to GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association’s (SEIA) Q2 2014 U.S. Solar Market Insight Report, the U.S. installed 1,133 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaics (PV) in the second …

By Travis Hoium  It may not have gotten a lot of media attention, but a recent eight-day race across the country may be laying the groundwork for vehicles of the future. The American Solar Challenge pits universities against each other in a challenge to make the fastest and most efficient vehicle powered only by the sun. The course weaved from Austin, …

By Travis Hoium A decade ago, the solar industry was almost nonexistent in the U.S. There was a large solar thermal power plant in the Mojave Desert that was completed in 1984; but between then and around 2008, there was almost no solar activity in the U.S. That all changed as costs quickly dropped for solar energy, and solar panel prices …

Sustainable energy expert reports on market study at SOLAR 2014 Conference  With the growth rate of the solar energy market expected to increase by double-digits over the next decade, so too will the demand for copper which is needed to  power and ground cabling for these installations, said Zolaikha Strong, director of sustainable energy for the Copper Development Association (CDA), …

For many states struggling to reduce their carbon emissions, solar can be a real game-changer. With the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set to announce new air quality standards for coal and natural gas-fired power plants on Monday, June 2, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) today released a comprehensive report, “Cutting Carbon Emissions Under §111(d): The case for expanding solar …

Can it happen? Our roads and parking lots covered with solar panels generating power everyday to power our world in a way that would mean the end of oil dependence? Well a couple from Idaho has had that grand vision and they have been working hard to make it a reality. Watch the video below to see their vision.   …

   Green Hygienics to Address Critical Global Power Demands and Conservation The advantages of low-cost, clean forms of energy are increasingly moving from the margins to the mainstream of public awareness in countries around the world, especially developing nations with fast-growing economies, rising numbers of middle class consumers and traditional power supplies that are unreliable or heavy polluters or both.The decision by Warren Buffett’s utility company …

Being a China watcher always involves parsing official statements to figure out who has the upper hand in Beijing and, if someone has some clout, what that person’s stand on an issue is. So I have been watching statements by Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang and Minister of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei to figure out where each stands and who …

Light-absorbing, water-repellent material could quell neighbors’ solar panel spats   All that’s gold does not glitter, thanks to new work by UC Irvine scientists that could reduce glare from solar panels and electronic displays and dull dangerous glints on military weapons. “We found that a very simple process and a tiny bit of gold can turn a transparent film black,” …

RGS Energy, a nationwide leader of turnkey solar energy solutions for residential, commercial, and utility customers, and GRID Alternatives, the nation’s largest non-profit solar installer, have launched a new partnership to help bring solar power to low-income communities across the country. RGS Energy employees will volunteer throughout 2014 to install solar for 10 low-income families in California, Colorado, New Jersey and New York, while …

Asia Drives Global PV Installations to 46 GW, IHS Predicts Global solar photovoltaic (PV) installations will grow by a robust 22 percent in 2014, largely as a result of recent policy changes in the two largest markets, China and Japan, according to IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS). Worldwide installations in 2014 will rise to 46 GW (gigawatts), 5 GW higher than …

New Energy Unveils Company?s Largest and Highest-Performance See-Through SolarWindow? Capable of Generating Electricity on Glass New Energy Technologies Inc. (OTCQB: NENE), developer of see-through SolarWindow? coatings, capable of generating electricity on glass and flexible plastics, today made public never-before-seen images of the Company?s largest area, high-performance SolarWindow? arrays.  These SolarWindow? arrays measure over 232 cm2 ? a significant achievement for …

 Latin America Leads Manufacturing Capacity Growth With capital expenditures for the photovoltaic (PV) industry set to bounce back in 2014, a new round of solar spending will commence that will reach $3.8 billion by year-end, according to IHS Technology (NYSE: IHS). PV capital spending has been rising notably over the past two quarters, en route to a third straight increase with the …

  The age of solar being used to generate energy on the roof tops of commercial buildings now seems to be coming into its own. No longer just the domain of rooftop household solar or large solar power stations, commercial building owners can now see the benefits of using solar on their large commercial roof space. This report give the …

Next-Generation Photovoltaic Technologies to Take Center Stage as Solar Expenditures Rebound Advanced photovoltaic (PV) technologies such as diamond wire and n-type substrates will increasingly find their way into mainstream solar manufacturing, especially with capital expenditures set to bounce back this year, according to IHS Technology (NYSE: IHS). In a move that will coincide with the launch of a new spending …

Mexico Boosts Its Global Solar Appeal, Now No.3 Behind South Africa and Turkey Mexico in the first quarter raised its attractiveness profile in the global photovoltaic (PV) market to close in on reigning leaders South Africa and Turkey, while the Philippines is now in the top 10 among the most appealing PV markets for the first time ever, according to …

It seems hard to believe that we have come so far in the adoption and acceptance of solar energy in our country both on the commercial power development side and on the home solar power side that a dispute like the one brewing the St Louis area could still be happening. CLARKSON VALLEY • The fuss over the solar panels remains …

High-Concentration Solar Photovoltaic Systems to Reach Greater Efficiencies, Boosting Appeal Against Conventional Solutions Consistent improvements in technology and gradually lower costs will drive high-concentration photovoltaic (HCPV) systems to superior efficiencies, making HCPV an increasingly viable rival to conventional solar-generating solutions, according to the latest analysis from IHS Technology (NYSE: IHS). The cell efficiency of HCPV systems, currently at 40 to 42 percent, …