Tag Archives: solar cells

New Energy Discovery Boosts Performance of See-through Solar Cells, Able to Generate Electricity on Glass Windows New Energy Technologies, Inc., developer of see-through solar cells for generating electricity on glass windows, today announced that researchers have successfully achieved faster fabrication time, improved transparency, and a two-fold increase in power conversion efficiency. Researchers achieved today?s advances by way of a novel, …

U.S. Solar Market Grows 76% in 2012; Now an Increasingly-Competitive Energy Source for Millions of Americans Today GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association® (SEIA®) today released U.S. Solar Market Insight: Year-in-Review 2012, the definitive analysis of solar power markets in the U.S. With another record-breaking year, solar is the fastest growing energy source in the U.S., powering homes, …

The United States and China traded more than $8.5 billion worth of clean energy goods and services in 2011, the latest year for which data are available. According to a report released today by The Pew Charitable Trusts, U.S. companies enjoyed a $1.63 billion sales advantage over their Chinese counterparts. The report, Advantage America: The U.S.-China Clean Energy Trade Relationship …

Efficiency improvement remains the key, Metal Wrap Through (MWT) technology ready to take the market According to EnergyTrend, a research division of TrendForce, solar cell and module manufacturers will be more active in improving product efficiency under the pressure of both installation costs and subsidy cut. As for new technologies, MWT technology has been generally appreciated by related industries; it …

Caltech Researchers Create Highly Absorbing, Flexible  Cells with Silicon Wire Arrays Using arrays of long, thin silicon wires embedded in a polymer substrate, a team of scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has created a new type of flexible solar cell that enhances the absorption of sunlight and efficiently converts its photons into electrons. The solar cell does …

By Michael Gorton, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Principal Solar Despite the sluggish economy, the US solar industry has seen massive growth in the past two years, creating jobs across the country, driving innovation and attracting investors. In fact, solar installations reached 742MW in the second quarter, up 45 percent over the prior quarter, and a 116-percent increase over …

The EPA reports that 36 percent of total energy use and 65 percent of electricity consumption comes from buildings. When these numbers approach 0, mankind will have taken a major step towards fossil fuel independence. Exciting new green energy technologies are leading us towards a promising future at a more rapid pace than many have imagined. Recent developments in solar …

Silicon wafers coated in a protein extracted from spinach produce an electric current that is nearly 2-1/2 times higher than the previously best level reported for so-called biohybrid solar cells. The protein, called photosystem 1 (PS1), converts sunlight into electrical energy. For the last few decades, researchers have learned how to extract and harness PS1 to create solar cells, but …

Anti-Dumping Cases between U.S., China, and Europe Render August European solar companies jointly filed an anti-dumping complaint to the EU against Chinese solar firms. In the meantime, the Chinese government is debating launching an anti-dumping investigation on multi-Si product imports from foreign companies. To top it all off, the United States’ final ruling on the anti-dumping and anti-countervailing cases will …

Solar Module Price Erosion Slows in the Second Half of 2012 as Demand Rises In a modicum of good news for the battered solar industry, price declines for photovoltaic modules are expected to moderate slightly in the second half of 2012 on the strength of renewed demand, according to the latest IHS iSuppli Photovoltaics Cell & Module Production Market Tracker …

Following similar action from the U.S. government, the European Union may undertake an antidumping investigation of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells imported from China. However, compared to the United States, the EU inquiry is less likely to result in the imposition of countervailing duties, according to the most recent IHS iSuppli Photovoltaics Market Tracker report at information and analytics provider IHS …

Rice researchers develop paintable battery Technique could turn any surface into a lithium-ion battery; may be combined with solar cells Researchers at Rice University have developed a lithium-ion battery that can be painted on virtually any surface. The rechargeable battery created in the lab of Rice materials scientist Pulickel Ajayan consists of spray-painted layers, each representing the components in a …

Solar plane flies to Sahara sun in Ouarzazate, Morocco Highlights World Bank-financed Morocco solar project linking Europe, N Africa to power of Sahara sun After completing its historic 2,500-kilometer intercontinental flight to Morocco earlier this month, the Swiss solar-powered plane, Solar Impulse, lifted off from Morocco’s capital Rabat morning of June 21 on the second attempt at its most challenging …

With more and more consumers wanting to reduce their carbon footprints, the use of home solar power has arisen as an extremely viable and eco-friendly option. The only reason it has not become more widespread is the cost, which for many people has simply been too high. However, the cost of manufacturing is slowly coming down, due to increased innovation, …

By Ysabel Yates It sounds like a child’s question: can you generate solar power underwater? The answer, according to Phillip Jenkins and his team at the US Naval Research Laboratory, is yes. The researchers recently demonstrated a method for harvesting solar power underwater at depths of 30 feet. Currently, the only option for underwater energy is batteries, which shortens the …

U.S. government antidumping penalties on imports of photovoltaic (PV) cells from China could suspend nearly half of solar module shipments to North America this year, impacting pricing, inventories and project timelines, according to an IHS iSuppli PV Perspectives report from information and analytics provider IHS (NYSE: IHS). The U.S. Department of Commerce on May 17 announced a preliminary determination in …

Anti-dumping and Anti-countervailing Decision Unexpected, Manufacturers Treading Carefully Last Friday’s (May 18) results for the preliminary ruling on the U.S. anti-dumping and anti-countervailing case against China were not what the PV industry expected, and Chinese manufacturers were caught off guard by the news, resulting in delayed price negotiations for June. According to EnergyTrend, a research division of TrendForce, related vendors …

Solar power growth has depended on a variety of incentives to get the ball rolling in the consumer and utility scale markets. Subsidies, rebates, leasing, and so on have been needed to get funding for projects and R&D in this growing energy field. This item shows how a consortium set up to promote solar power is further stimulating the market …

U.S. Sets Preliminary Anti-dumping Duties on solar cells, Taiwanese Makers to See Improved Spot Market Prices Next Week On May 17, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced its preliminary decision regarding anti-dumping charges against China’s solar cell and module makers. Anti-dumping duties imposed on China’s major solar cell manufacturers average 31.18%, with Suntech and Trina Solar receiving 31.22% and 31.14%, …

Wind energy has been picking up lots of attention lately for both good and bad reasons. This report seems to be one of the good indicators that wind energy is a good part of the alternative energy puzzle we need to assemble in our country to have a diversified energy portfolio. Wind power ten times cleaner than coal, Colorado NREL …