Solar happenings

[vfx]

I am so gullible. This kind of reporting makes me giddy and optimistic.

15 Photovoltaics Solar Power Innovations You Must See : TreeHugger

[doug]

And now some not so good solar happenings:

Thieves Are Stealing Solar Panels and Selling them - NYTimes.com

The panels were disassembled expertly, he said, leading him to suspect that someone in the solar industry had done it. He urges clients to install video cameras and alarms for their solar arrays, and likens his own revamped security system to Fort Knox.
“This is the crime of the future,” Mr. McCalmont said.

[vfx]

Yeah I put that on Martin's Solar panel page (!)

[dpeilow]

World's Largest Roll-to-Roll Thin Film Solar Manufacturing Facility Opens

[doug]

Read this yesterday in the Cronicle:

California company has new approach to solar

The next wave of solar power technology may be a skinny glass tube that looks like a fluorescent light bulb painted black.
...
Solyndra Chief Executive Officer Chris Gronet said he got the idea after noticing just how much room traditional solar panels squander. Rows of standard solar panels perched on a flat roof have to sit several feet apart so they don't cast shadows on each other. Lay solar cylinders flat, however, and you can blanket the entire roof.
"Look at the picture long enough, and you're going to realize there's a lot of wasted space, and a cylinder might work better," said Gronet.

[graham]

fascinating! I wonder how efficient they are and how much power they generate per square foot of rooftop compared to an array of tilt-up solar panels?

[vfx]

Neat.

I wonder how much energy is created from the reflection from the roof. I ask because roofs are quickly dirty but I also ask because these might make a way cool patio cover.

http://www.solyndra.com/

[TEG]

"...Solyndra exits stealth mode Tuesday with $600 million in venture capital, $1.2 billion in customer contracts..." (!)

[vfx]

"...Solyndra exits stealth mode Tuesday with $600 million in venture capital, $1.2 billion in customer contracts..." (!)

How do they get that kind of funding without some data? I want to see a white paper. Comparisons to thin film and standard Solar panels. Their selling point is "off axis". Let's see a study.

I wanted to email them about this but all they had was a sales page.

[doug]

New solar generator system from Solyndra is totally tubular - Engadget