Solar happenings

[dpeilow]

Indeed I did, although bizzarely that was the URL I had that worked for me.

I've edited the original post now.

 

[graham]

The Anti-reflective coating is interesting to me, as it sounds like it could be used also for existing solar panels to boost their efficiency. That would be very cool!

I wonder how far they are away from making it a product?

 

[dpeilow]

Am I being dumb here? Surely, regardless of the new coating, if the panel is not normal to the direction of the light source then it will see a lower power flux across the panel and the cosine rule still applies?

 

[vfx]

Solar Power Game-Changer: “Near Perfect” Absorption of Sunlight, From All Angles

If I had money I would get these guys with the 25 percent guys and make a fortune. :biggrin:

 

[dpeilow]

Well, I'm not so sure.

Firstly, while they may be able to absorb every photon landing on the array, if the array is not normal (90 degrees) to the direction of the light, then they will get a proportional amount of photons to the angle that is presented.

Secondly, if the photons absorbed are not of the frequency/wavelength/colour that the semiconductor junctions are able to convert then it doesn't matter. They will never get above the theoretical maximum that a state-of-the-art (e.g. triple junction) solar array can produce.

There may be some benefits from the refraction from the seven layers, but this is not a panacea.

 

[vfx]

Solar achieves parity with coal.

Reminds me of comparing MPG to GPM.

 

[doug]

As fed steps up, states step back on solar funding - SFGate.com


Watchdog calls for cleaning up solar industry - SFGate.com

 

[vfx]

Combine a possible drop in Solar prices and the new 30 percent no cap tax credit, This might be a good time to buy stock in PV.

 

[TEG]

Veranda personal solar, and and idea.

So I saw this: Solar Power For $2 A Day

It got me thinking, I have two types of things mounted on my roof pointed at the southern sky - solar panels & satellite dishes.
Why not combine them. How about the "green dish" option from DirecTV and DishNetwork? When your dish gets mounted you ask for the green option and they give you a dish with a small solar panel integrated in. They are already mounting it and pointing it towards the southern sky, and running cables back into your house. The satellite box inside could have a small inverter built in and just send a bit of power back down the line during the day.

 

[doug]

When your dish gets mounted you ask for the green option and they give you a dish with a small solar panel integrated in. They are already mounting it and pointing it towards the southern sky, and running cables back into your house. The satellite box inside could have a small inverter built in and just send a bit of power back down the line during the day.

Integrated in?? You mean on the parabolic reflector?

 

[TEG]

Well, maybe... Or if the solar material interferes with the bouncing RF transmission it could just be "winglets" of solar panels flared off to the sides of the dish.

 

[doug]

Well looks like these guys got some DOE money:

Solyndra gets its long-awaited loan from DOE - San Francisco Business Times:

The Department of Energy has released a $535 million loan guarantee to Fremont-based Solyndra Inc., maker of cylindrical solar panels, to expand its manufacturing plant.
...
The guaranteed loan is expected to provide debt financing for about 73 percent of the cost to build its second manufacturing facility, which will be capable of producing 500 megawatts of solar panels per year. That’s enough to power 1.2 million average San Francisco homes. The new facility will create 1,000 new permanent jobs and its construction will create 3,000 jobs. More jobs will be created to install Solyndra’s panels, the company said. The panels can be installed on residential or commercial rooftops.
...

 

[TEG]

That is good news. It seems like the VCs were not ready to do more rounds without some government help. We certainly need the jobs, and the world could probably make good use of this technology.

 

[SteveF]

Now how about some additional tax breaks so more consumers can afford to install them on their homes. The time to payback is a bit long right now for most folks, I think.

 

[vfx]

Still looking for data on these things! What is the efficiency/cost ratio? A white paper is needed.

And what about cleaning?

 

[SByer]

How about stopping the extreme subsidies for coal power (pricing in the environmental damage, especially of mining)? Solar would look positively cheap.

Seriously, the payback time never includes any increase in home equity - because, well, there's not much data on it. The data is starting to come in, and even if you halve it, in some parts of the country, like here in CA...

I think people are nuts for not installing solar PV systems.

 

[vfx]

How about stopping the extreme subsidies for coal power...

And taking that money and putting it directly into Solar, etc.

 

[vfx]

Well looks like these guys got some DOE money:

The Solyndra loan is the first from the DOE. It's also worth mentioning how fast this went through since the previous administration had been stonewalling any funding decisions for 2 years.

More details:

 

[TEG]

Still looking for data on these things! What is the efficiency...?

Solyndra reveals thin-film solar tubes | Cleantech Group

Solyndra’s 180-watt-peak panels—each made up of 40 cylinders in a one-meter by two-meter aluminum frame—have an efficiency of 12 percent to 14 percent...
That claim has not been third-party verified... A reflective coating on the roof below the panel accounts for 20 percent of the output...

Comparable to traditional flat silicon based solar panels as long as you make the roof below reflective.

 

[Chris H.]

At 2m^2, they take up more area than a "traditional" PV module, which is usually approx. 0.8m x 1.5m for a 175 watt panel. That makes them less power dense than a traditional panel.

I wonder how they compare in $/W?