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#Post#: 44--------------------------------------------------
Photvoltaics (PV)
By: AGelbert Date: October 11, 2013, 6:03 pm
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[center]Solar Growth Outpaces Wind for First Time [/center]
Tildy Bayar, Associate Editor, Renewable Energy World
LONDON -- A strong showing from global solar photovoltaic (PV)
installations, coupled with a sharp fall in new wind capacity,
has led to solar growth outpacing wind this year – for the first
time ever.
Analysis from Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicts that 36.7 GW
in new solar PV capacity will be added worldwide in 2013,
compared with 35.5 GW in new wind installations (33.8 GW onshore
and 1.7 GW offshore).
Both wind and solar PV broke records last year, with onshore and
offshore wind adding 46.6 GW and solar PV adding 30.5 GW. But
2013’s slowdown in the two largest wind markets, China and the
U.S., is opening the way for the rapidly growing PV market to
overtake wind, BNEF said.
Justin Wu, BNEF’s head of wind analysis, said, "We forecast that
wind installations will shrink by nearly 25 percent in 2013, to
their lowest level since 2008, reflecting slowdowns in the U.S.
and China caused by policy uncertainty.”
In the U.S., the repeated last-minute extension of the
Production Tax Credit has created what analysts have called a
perpetual boom-and-bust cycle. This year’s uncertainty led to a
drop in investment, causing significant layoffs and facility
closures across the wind supply chain.
In China, where the industry has suffered from curtailment due
to insufficient infrastructure and tightened standards for wind
turbines have slowed development, the sector has been expecting
further policy announcements after the government raised this
year's new-capacity target to 18 GW in January.
In particular, developers say China’s feed-in tariff (FiT) for
offshore wind is too low given the higher costs of offshore
development, leading to predictions that the nation will fail to
meet its offshore goal of 5 GW by 2015. The government has said
it will re-think the FiT, but has offered no timetable.
Globally, demand for wind turbines is predicted to shrink by 5
percent this year, for the first time since 2004.
But wind is still far from dire straits, BNEF reassured.
“Falling technology costs, new markets and the growth of the
offshore industry will ensure wind remains a leading renewable
energy technology,” Wu said.
In the solar sector, "the dramatic cost reductions in PV,
combined with new incentive regimes in Japan and China, are
making possible further, strong growth in volumes," said Jenny
Chase, BNEF’s head of solar analysis.
In Japan, the fourth country to reach the 10 GW mark in
cumulative solar capacity, the attractive FiT has led to rapid
growth over the past year, with demand surging in the commercial
and utility segments. China, which will be the largest solar
market this year according to BNEF, has raised its renewable
energy surcharge and revamped its subsidy regime, expanding
performance-based incentives for distributed solar power in a
bid to grow the domestic market after solar trade spats with
Europe and the U.S. The nation aims to more than quadruple its
solar power generating capacity to 35 GW by 2015.
Growth in Asia will offset PV’s decline in traditional leading
regions. "Europe is a declining market,” Chase said, “because
many countries there are rapidly moving away from incentives,
but it will continue to see new PV capacity added."
While the immediate future looks brighter for solar than wind,
BNEF predicted that, despite 2013’s rankings upset, the maturing
onshore wind and solar PV sectors will contribute almost equally
to the world’s new electricity capacity additions between now
and 2030. On- and offshore wind will grow from 5 percent of
total installed power generation capacity in 2012 to 17 percent
in 2030, while solar PV will increase from a lower base of 2
percent in 2012 to 16 percent by 2030, BNEF said.
The analysis also predicted that technology suppliers in both
wind and solar may see a move back to profit as soon as this
year, after a prolonged period of oversupply and consolidation.
Michael Liebreich, BNEF’s chief executive, commented: “Cost cuts
and a refocusing on profitable markets and business segments
have bolstered the financial performance of wind turbine makers
and the surviving solar manufacturers. Stock market investors
have been noticing this change, and clean energy shares have
rebounded by 66 percent since their lows of July 2012."
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#Post#: 47--------------------------------------------------
Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
By: AGelbert Date: October 11, 2013, 8:25 pm
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Solar VC Funding: "The Fear Is Gone" For Investors
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Funding for solar energy projects and M&A soars, as investors
and developers continue to confidently ride the demand wave.
James Montgomery, Associate Editor, RenewableEnergyWorld.com
October 09, 2013
New Hampshire, USA -- Project funding and merger and acquisition
(M&A) activity in the solar energy sector reached record levels
from July-September of this year, reflecting an improved outlook
for solar demand, according to a new report from Mercom Capital
Group.
Global funding for solar energy spiked to $2.18 billion, more
than twice the funding seen in 2Q13 ($915 million), Mercom says.
Top VC recipients in the quarter included Solexel ($40 million,
high-efficiency silicon solar cells), eSolar ($22 million,
concentrated solar power developer), Clean Power Finance ($20
million, third-party solar PV financing), HelioVolt ($19
million, thin-film), and Dyesol ($16 million,
dye-sensitized/organic solar cells). On the M&A side, the
Applied Materials-Tokyo Electron deal was a major shakeup in the
semiconductor sector but less so for silicon solar
manufacturing.
The new normal is now. It's time to stop comparing today's
levels of solar energy investment to the heady days of two or
three years ago, when $400-$500 million quarters were routine
and money flowed freely to solar technology developers jostled
for positioning. "We're not seeing anything over $200 million in
the last 3-6 quarters," noted Mercom CEO Raj Prabhu. "This is
where we are: the new normal."
Strategic investors are stepping up. SK Group put more money
into Heliovolt. Saudi conglomerate Tasnee invested in Dyesol.
Over the past year Hanergy and Hanwha have been extending their
reach into solar. Big strategic partners with a ton of money
continue to hedge some bets on technology, possibly where they
can leverage manufacturing experience.
Solar leasing's hot. Third-party solar finance companies raised
approximately $584 million in the past quarter, with SolarCity,
Sungevity, SunRun, etc. raising funds with help from banks. So
far with three months to go, third-party solar leasing firms
have raised roughly $2.5 billion this year, compared to just $2
billion in both 2012 and 2011. "This shows that it's still
pretty healthy out there," Prabhu said. "Everything we're seeing
is going up." Of course the ability to pull down lots of funding
is especially important to third-party firms; it's not just
enough to raise a few million of VC or private equity funding,
but they need to raise tens and hundreds of millions of dollars
and put that right into rooftop installations, Prabhu pointed
out. "If they're not doing that they have a problem."
Also noteworthy during 3Q12 was SolarCity's acquisition of sales
channel partner Paramount Solar, underscoring the importance of
customer acquisition in the solar leasing model. "At the end of
the day, anyone can go install" solar, Prabhu pointed out, but
"the ability to go out and land the residential customers makes
you unique."
Projects are popular
[I]Full article here:[/I]
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#Post#: 75--------------------------------------------------
One Step Closer to Opening US "Vanilla Cell Architecture&qu
ot; PV Wafer Facility
By: AGelbert Date: October 16, 2013, 1:30 pm
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With more funding in hand and a DOE loan in its pocket, 1366
Technologies is launching a search for a 250-MW factory here in
the US.
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James Montgomery, Associate Editor, RenewableEnergyWorld.com
October 16, 2013
New Hampshire, USA -- Solar silicon wafer innovator 1366
Technologies has landed new funding led by newest partner
Tokayama, and is ready to scale up to a 250-MW production line
ahead of an anticipated upswing in demand.
Ten months ago 1366 moved into a new 25-MW pilot facility in
Bedford, Massachusetts, to nail down process and tweak equipment
for its solar silicon wafering technology to take the next step
toward commercialization.
Five months ago 1366 inked a R&D deal with Japanese silicon
producer Tokuyama with hints that it could expand to an equity
investment.
Since then, the company has ramped its output from about 50
wafers per furnace per day to more than 1200 now thanks to
what CEO Frank van Mierlo referred to as some "important
engineering decisions" and unspecified process modifications,
though he acknowledged partner Tokayama has "good insights with
respect to silicon" such as unparalleled measurement of silicon
impurities.
Over the next year they aim to get that up to 3,500
wafers/machine/day, roughly equivalent to 5 MW worth of wafers,
but the core process rate allows for more than 4,000
wafers/machine/day with some further improvements to some
automation and materials handling, he said.
Typical silicon solar wafers are made by melting silicon chunks
in a large quartz crucible, then cooling and forming the mass
into a rectangular block and sawing out individual wafers.
1366's Direct Wafer process uses a much shallower container,
forming thin layers on the surface which are skimmed off as
wafers -- CEO Frank van Mierlo likened it to the icy surface
formed on a wintry pond. Lasers instead of saws are then used to
more precisely trim the wafers down to a standard 156 × 156
size.
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The end result is several process steps condensed into one, less
consumables, less materials waste (kerf loss from sawing), and
labor to make a silicon solar wafer at a third of the costs of
traditional solar wafer manufacturing.
Once the process is scaled up onto full production lines,
fully-loaded wafer costs will be just $0.10/Watt, vs. legacy
wafers at $0.29/W, according to Mierlo.
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/earthhug.gifThe
process also uses
a lot less energy: Mierlo cited an energy payback of a
typical silicon solar panel is 20 months, but just 11 months
made with the company's silicon.
The company claims its silicon wafers are translating into cell
efficiencies of 17.2 percent in customer trials, based on what
Mierlo called "vanilla cell architecture" (screen-printed silver
on the front, aluminum paste on the back); earlier this year the
company showed a 17.5 percent efficient cell made with more a
complicated highly passivated backside. (That 17.2 percent also
is around the range of other recent industry marks for
standard-sized multicrystalline solar cells.) The company has
had successful customer trials with four customers so far, he
added.
The next steps are to achieve a "copy exact" transition to a
second furnace and then move forward with the bigger plan: start
building out a 250-MW production factory (~60 million
wafers/year) sometime in 2014. For that the company will pool
this latest round of funding, plus about $50 million of the $150
million DOE loan guarantee in its back pocket matched
dollar-for-dollar with private investment (the company has
accumulated roughly $62 million in equity and VC backing), and
some of its own cash ("we are cash-flow-positive this year,"
Mierlo said). The company is exploring sites across the U.S.
including vacated buildings that might be a more cost-effective
route, but it's still searching for one that meets all its
criteria of low costs and electricity prices and strong local
government support and worker quality. Most silicon solar cells
are made in Asia now, but Mierlo reiterated he wants to see this
silicon wafer factory here in the U.S. both to protect the
company's IP and because "I personally believe that the U.S. can
compete in manufacturing."
With the gap starting to narrow between solar manufacturing
capacity and end demand -- general industry consensus is that
global solar demand will surge to 40-45 GW next year, and maybe
50-60 GW a year or two beyond that ;D -- silicon prices are
showing signs of recovery again, and that makes 1366's low-cost
position even stronger, according to Mierlo. "Even at today's
low silicon prices we have a competitive offering." And
inserting a drop-in higher-quality silicon wafer will help lay
the foundation for higher-efficiency cells, he noted. And higher
conversion efficiency is one of the first and best ways to lower
total system costs.
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#Post#: 206--------------------------------------------------
Multicrystalline Silicon Modules To Dominate Solar PV Industry I
n 2014
By: AGelbert Date: October 29, 2013, 10:38 pm
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Multicrystalline Silicon Modules To Dominate Solar PV Industry
In 2014
A new report from NPD Solarbuzz states that the production of
multicrystalline-silicon (c-Si) solar photovoltaic (PV) modules
is set to dominate the PV manufacturing industry for 2014, “with
p-type multi c-Si technology accounting for 62% of all modules
produced.”
This, according to the latest NPD Solarbuzz PV Equipment
Quarterly report, and underlines solar industry expectations for
a strong 2014.
According to the report, solar PV manufacturers are gearing up
to increase module production by 25% in 2014, up to 49.7 GW of
modules compared to 39.7 GW produced in 2013. The production
increase matches NPD Solarbuzz’s own end-market solar PV demand
predictions of 45-55 GW by next year.
“PV manufacturers continue to prioritize cost-reduction across
the entire c-Si value-chain, with improvements in efficiency
coming mainly from higher-quality multi c-Si wafers,” said
Finlay Colville, vice president at NPD Solarbuzz. ”While there
will inevitably be short-term supply issues throughout the year,
polysilicon and wafer supply is considered adequate for 45-50 GW
of c-Si module shipments in 2014.
Chinese cell and module suppliers will continue to operate a
flexible manufacturing strategy, with new capacity expected to
come online during 2H’14.”
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height=390]
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Source: NPD Solarbuzz PV Equipment Quarterly
In a blog post to their website on Friday, NPD’s Michael Barker
noted that “companies across the industry chain are preparing
new strategies to seize on the opportunities stemming from
renewed optimism about the prospects for the PV industry in 2014
and beyond.” Reporting on the Solar Power International
conference in Chicago, Barker noted the tough past 18 months and
pointed to “record shipments in 2013 and increased demand and
production in 2014″ as confirmation that there is an
upward trend currently suffusing the solar industry.
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#Post#: 229--------------------------------------------------
Solar Industry Rebounds!
By: AGelbert Date: October 31, 2013, 1:29 pm
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[center]The Worst Is Over? Solar Industry
HTML http://dl3.glitter-graphics.net/pub/465/465823jzy0y15obs.gif<br
/>Rebounds [img
width=70]
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/>
[/center]
Ehren Goossens, Bloomberg
October 31, 2013
NEW YORK CITY -- Solar industry manufacturers are rebounding
from a two-year slump faster than technology companies recovered
from the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s.
The benchmark BI Global Large Solar Energy Index of 15
manufacturers, which slumped 87 percent from a February 2011
peak through November 2012, has regained 55 percent of its value
in the past year. The technology-dominated Nasdaq Composite
index reached its post-bubble low in October 2002 and regained
37 percent of its March 2000 peak value in the next year,
according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Suppliers including California’s SunPower Corp., which has
gained more than fivefold this year, and China’s Yingli Green
Energy Holding Co. are driving the rally as panel prices
stabilize. Installations at power plants and on roofs will swell
40 percent this year from a 6.1 percent pace last year.
“The worst is probably behind us,” Jenny Chase, lead solar
analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said in an interview.
“We’ve just gone through a big trough in solar supply.”
Investors poured $205 billion into clean-energy projects in the
past year, soaking up some of the global oversupply of panels.
The recovery will continue in 2014 with prices remaining stable,
Chase said. Manufacturers are “a lot less depressed.”
Optimistic Analysts
Analysts have become more optimistic about solar shares in
recent months. The average rating for SunPower, the biggest U.S.
supplier of polysilicon-based solar panels, is 3.5, up from 2.4
in December and the highest in more than two years, according to
data compiled by Bloomberg. A 5 rating indicates investors
should purchase the shares, and 1 means they should sell.
JinkoSolar Holding Co., the only Chinese solar manufacturer to
report a profit in the second quarter, has an average rating of
3.7, up from 2.3 in May, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Its
shares have more than tripled this year.
Investors have rushed back into shares of the biggest panel
makers even before they’ve returned to profit. Yingli, which has
more than doubled, is forecast to report narrowed losses
compared with 2012. Canadian Solar Inc., which has risen almost
sevenfold, is forecast to return to profit of $27 million from a
$195 million loss in 2012.
‘Improved Significantly’
“It’s pretty clear over the last nine months that things have
improved significantly,” Robert Petrina, Yingli’s managing
director for the Americas, said in an interview.
Yingli, based in Baoding, China, was the biggest panel maker
last year based on 2.3 gigawatts of shipments, and the company
expects that figure to increase as much as 43 percent this year.
The global photovoltaic industry may install as much as 42.7
gigawatts of panels this year, 40 percent more than in 2012,
according to New Energy Finance.
The strongest companies are now selling panels above cost,
according to Chase. A year ago, more than half the Chinese
panel-makers in the Large Solar Energy index reported negative
gross margins. That’s a strong sign that the industry is
starting to turn the corner from the last two years, when
factories were overbuilt.
The top 10 manufacturers boosted their total panel- production
capacity 19 percent to 20.6 gigawatts in 2012 from two years
earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Those
factories came online as demand waned. Panel installations more
than doubled from 2009 to 2010. The pace slowed to 58 percent in
2011, and then slumped to 6.1 percent last year.
Some of the “illogical elements of the market” have disappeared,
Chase said.
Demand is climbing in Japan, where the country is promoting
wider use of renewable energy instead of nuclear power,
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and China, where the government expects its installed capacity
to double :o this year. The two countries will be the top solar
markets this year, according to New Energy Finance.
Solar Bankruptcies
The solar slump had casualties, driving more than two dozen
manufacturers into bankruptcy, and some companies are still
struggling, said Chase.
“I don’t think we’re out of the woods. There may still be some
bankruptcies,” she said.
Those failures may benefit the industry as weaker companies are
forced out and larger ones absorb their customers and assets,
said Mark Mendenhall, president for the Americas at Trina Solar
Ltd. The Changzhou, China-based company expects to ship as much
as 2.4 gigawatts of panels this year, up 50 percent from 2012,
and its shares have more than tripled this year.
Other Threats
“You’re going to see a greater separation between the well-run
companies from those that are trying to operate purely on a
low-price basis,” he said. “This is an industry that’s gotten
out of its childhood, emerged from adolescence and is poised to
enter adulthood. That which doesn’t kill you, makes you
stronger.”
Other potential threats to the solar rebound are increased costs
for raw materials, including aluminum and polysilicon, he said.
Most of the companies in the Large Solar Index are still
unprofitable. Only Jinko, SunPower and First Solar Inc. reported
net income in the second quarter.
The oversupply drove down panel prices 52 percent in 2011 and 20
percent last year. That was bad for suppliers and better for
customers, helping boost sales, according to Tom Werner, chief
executive officer of SunPower. So far this year, prices have
rebounded 9 percent.
The company, based in San Jose, California, expects to recognize
sales of as much as 1.03 gigawatts of panels this year. The
company said yesterday it will boost capacity by 25 percent.
“Cost of solar is more competitive with conventional energy,”
HTML http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons/tuzki-bunnys/tuzki-bunny-emoticon-003.gifhttp://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons/tuzki-bunnys/tuzki-bunny-emoticon-005.gif<br
/> Werner said in an interview. “Things are substantially
different from a year ago. For us, sunnier skies started earlier
this year.”
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Copyright 2013 Bloomberg
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[move]Added to the above, now that the 5th largest economic
block in the world by GDP has decided make polluters PAY the
REAL price of carbon, ALL Renewable energy competitive financial
power has been given ROCKET FUEL!
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[/move]
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#Post#: 278--------------------------------------------------
Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
By: AGelbert Date: November 7, 2013, 5:07 pm
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Largest Solar Power Station In Japan Opened By Kyocera [img
width=80
height=70]
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/>
The president of Kyocera Corporation, Goro Yamaguchi, has
announced the launch of a 700 MW solar power plant in the
Kagoshima Prefecture of Southern Japan. According to the Kyocera
press release, it is the largest in Japan.
It is called the Kagoshima Nanatsujima Mega Solar Power Plant,
and it can generate enough electricity to power approximately
22,000 average households. The plant went online on November 1,
2013.
The electricity from this plant will be sold to a local utility
company under the terms of Japan’s feed-in-tariff (FIT) program.
[img width=640
height=480]
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70 MW Kagoshima Nanatsujima Mega Solar Power Plant.
Image Credit: Kyocera Press Release (E-mail).
The plant is to be operated by Kyocera Solar Corporation and
Kyudenko Corporation. It was constructed by Kyocera Solar
Corporation, Kyudenko Corporation, and Takenaka Corporation.
This helps Japan’s nuclear phaseout effort in light of the
Fukushima incident. Believe it or not, Japan is still struggling
to contain the Fukushima nuclear reactors after all these years,
as scientists don’t really have a suitable backup plan in the
event of nuclear reactor malfunctions such as these. As the
Kyocera press release put it:
Expectations and interest in solar energy have heightened to a
new level in Japan with the need to resolve power supply issues
resulting from the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011. To
further promote the use of renewable energy, the Japanese
government launched a restructured FIT program in July 2012,
which stipulates that local utilities are required to purchase
100% of the power generated from solar installations of more
than 10 kilowatts (kW) for a period of 20 years.
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Source: Kyocera Press Release (E-Mail).
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First Solar Reports Largest Quarterly Decline In CdTe Module
Cost Per-Watt Since 2007
Originally published on Solar Love.
Thin-film solar market leader First Solar recently reported its
largest quarterly decline in CdTe module costs per-watt since
2007, as part of its third quarter 2013 financial results
report.
The notable decline represents a significant milestone in the
company’s goal of becoming the lowest-cost PV manufacturer in
the industry. First Solar attributes the achievement to the
implementation of its manufacturing cost reduction program — a
program which was detailed earlier in the year at the company’s
“Analyst Day” event.
“We have reduced our module manufacturing cost per watt to US
$0.59 from US $0.67 last quarter, an US $0.08 per watt or 12%
reduction quarter-on-quarter,” stated Jim Hughes, Chief
Executive Officer of First Solar, in the conference call. “This
is the best quarter-over-quarter cost improvement in six years
on a per watt basis and highest percentage reduction since our
IPO (in 2007).”
PV Tech provides more:
Hughes went on to highlight even lower manufacturing costs,
noting that First Solar’s conversion efficiency roadmap targets
and manufacturing improvement program as well as cost saving
initiatives, revealed a US $0.57/W, excluding plant
underutilization. Importantly, the company demonstrated that it
had met its conversion efficiency roadmap targets this year.
First Solar also said that in October, 2013 it’s lead production
line averaged module efficiencies of 13.9% and expected all
lines to reach 13.9%, over the next few quarters. Taking the
14.1% module efficiency achieved on its best line at its
Perrysburg facility, First Solar said that this pointed to a
cost per watt of US $0.49. [img width=60
height=60]
HTML http://www.smile-day.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Smiley-Thumbs-Up2.jpg[/img]<br
/>
“If we take the additional impact of excluding freight warranty
and recycling cost, we would be in the low 40s, so I think
that’s kind of the competitive benchmark that we should all keep
in front of us,” Hughes continued. “We have the capability
today, (14.1%) which we equate to an apples to apples comparison
(with conventional c-Si cell/modules in real-world temperature
conditions) across our profile (of) the low US $0.42/W to US
$0.43/W.”
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By comparison, Solar Frontier recently reported that its latest
record-holding CIS thin-film module had achieved a conversion
efficiency of 14.6% — with volume production modules currently
somewhere above about 13%. Mainstream multi-crystalline modules
currently possess an average conversion efficiency of about 15%.
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#Post#: 279--------------------------------------------------
Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
By: AGelbert Date: November 7, 2013, 5:24 pm
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[img width=640
height=260]
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[img width=640
height=380]
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[img width=640
height=380]
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First Solar Reports Largest Quarterly Decline In CdTe Module
Cost Per-Watt Since 2007
Originally published on Solar Love.
Thin-film solar market leader First Solar recently reported its
largest quarterly decline in CdTe module costs per-watt since
2007, as part of its third quarter 2013 financial results
report.
The notable decline represents a significant milestone in the
company’s goal of becoming the lowest-cost PV manufacturer in
the industry. First Solar attributes the achievement to the
implementation of its manufacturing cost reduction program — a
program which was detailed earlier in the year at the company’s
“Analyst Day” event.
“We have reduced our module manufacturing cost per watt to US
$0.59 from US $0.67 last quarter, an US $0.08 per watt or 12%
reduction quarter-on-quarter,” stated Jim Hughes, Chief
Executive Officer of First Solar, in the conference call. “This
is the best quarter-over-quarter cost improvement in six years
on a per watt basis and highest percentage reduction since our
IPO (in 2007).”
PV Tech provides more:
Hughes went on to highlight even lower manufacturing costs,
noting that First Solar’s conversion efficiency roadmap targets
and manufacturing improvement program as well as cost saving
initiatives, revealed a US $0.57/W, excluding plant
underutilization. Importantly, the company demonstrated that it
had met its conversion efficiency roadmap targets this year.
First Solar also said that in October, 2013 it’s lead production
line averaged module efficiencies of 13.9% and expected all
lines to reach 13.9%, over the next few quarters. Taking the
14.1% module efficiency achieved on its best line at its
Perrysburg facility, First Solar said that this pointed to a
cost per watt of US $0.49. [img width=60
height=60]
HTML http://www.smile-day.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Smiley-Thumbs-Up2.jpg[/img]<br
/>
“If we take the additional impact of excluding freight warranty
and recycling cost, we would be in the low 40s, so I think
that’s kind of the competitive benchmark that we should all keep
in front of us,” Hughes continued. “We have the capability
today, (14.1%) which we equate to an apples to apples comparison
(with conventional c-Si cell/modules in real-world temperature
conditions) across our profile (of) the low US $0.42/W to US
$0.43/W.”
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/looksmiley.gif
By comparison, Solar Frontier recently reported that its latest
record-holding CIS thin-film module had achieved a conversion
efficiency of 14.6% — with volume production modules currently
somewhere above about 13%. Mainstream multi-crystalline modules
currently possess an average conversion efficiency of about 15%.
HTML http://cleantechnica.com/2013/11/07/first-solar-reports-largest-quarterly-decline-cdte-module-cost-per-watt-since-2007/#Zh4oscK166wGTbBu.99
#Post#: 410--------------------------------------------------
Your solar panels are probably facing the wrong way
By: AGelbert Date: November 20, 2013, 11:00 pm
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Your solar panels are probably facing the wrong way
HTML http://www.coh2.org/images/Smileys/huhsign.gif
By Sarah Laskow
The conventional wisdom about solar panels — the ones that don’t
move as the sun does, at least — is that they should face south,
catching rays from the east in the morning and the west in the
afternoon.
But a new study says that’s wrong: Solar panels should simply
face west. Gizmodo writes:
Researchers at the Pecan Street Research Institute did a study
of homes with solar panels in Austin, Texas and found that when
homeowners faced solar panels west they were able to generate 2%
more electricity in a day. And they also generated more
electricity in the afternoon, when power grids experience peak
demand.
And there’s another benefit to west-facing solar panels, too:
They help save more money on electricity. Quartz:
[Q]uantifying the way that favoring late-day sunlight helps
homeowners save money and utilities flatten out demand could
lead to a simple but effective hack for the world’s solar
installers: Simply re-orienting solar panels could shorten the
amount of time it takes for them to pay for themselves.
This is less than helpful advice for people who’ve got their
panels locked down in some specific configuration on a slanted
roof. But it’s good advice for anyone who’s still looking to
install one — or can get up on their roof and re-orient the ones
they’ve already got.
Source
Most of the world’s solar panels are facing the wrong direction,
Quartz
Sarah Laskow is a reporter based in New York City who covers
environment, energy, and sustainability issues, among other
things. Follow her on Twitter.
HTML http://grist.org/list/your-solar-panels-are-probably-facing-the-wrong-way/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Daily%2520Nov%252011&utm_campaign=daily
#Post#: 455--------------------------------------------------
NYC's Largest Solar Array Tops Closed Landfill
By: AGelbert Date: November 26, 2013, 6:10 pm
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11/26/2013 02:15 PM
NYC's Largest Solar Array Tops Closed Landfill
SustainableBusiness.com News
Years ago, Mayor Bloomberg announced that New York City's closed
landfills would be the future locations of solar parks, and now
that's coming to fruition.
The largest solar installation in NYC will be built on its
largest closed landfill, Freshkills, which is being converted
into a 2200-acre park.
SunEdison won the bid to build and operate a 10 megawatt (MW)
solar park on 47 acres on Staten Island. It will sell the
electricity to NYC. There's room for another 10 MW of renewable
energy there, which probably will come from wind.
"Freshkills was once the site of the largest landfill in the
world. :P" Soon it will be one of the City's largest parks,
and the site of the largest solar power installation in the five
boroughs," says Mayor Bloomberg. "Over the last 12 years we've
restored wetlands and vegetation and opened new parks and soccer
fields at the edges of the site. Thanks to the agreement today
we will increase the amount of solar energy produced in New York
City by 50% and it is only fitting that Freshkills, once a daily
dumping ground, will become a showcase urban renewal and
sustainability." [img width=40
height=40]
HTML http://www.clker.com/cliparts/c/8/f/8/11949865511933397169thumbs_up_nathan_eady_01.svg.hi.png[/img]<br
/>
[img width=640
height=480]
HTML http://www.nrpa.org/uploadedImages/Parks_and_Recreation_Magazine_Blog/Freshkills-page.jpg[/img]
Although this solar park will electrify only 2000 homes, the
longer term plan is to use NYC Solar Maps to find 250 acres
appropriate for solar, generating electricity for 50,000 homes.
The Freshkills project "will help us understand how renewables
can integrate into our energy networks at a much greater scale,
and sends a signal to the market place that renewable energy is
both achievable within the city, and that it will continue to
grow and become a major component of New York City's energy
supply," says Sergej Mahnovski, Director of the Mayor's Office
of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability. "This project will
also push existing regulations to their boundaries.
Interconnection with the utility system will have to be
clarified, State programs aimed at increasing renewable energy
will have to be expanded, and landfill post-closure care will
have to be rewritten; and these are only a few of the challenges
ahead. But this is a necessary undertaking in order to shift our
power sector to a cleaner, more reliable energy future."
NYC has about 700 kilowatts of solar on the roofs of police
precincts, park buildings and firehouses. Recently, it signed an
agreement to install 2 MW of solar on four city-owned buildings
- a wastewater treatment plant, two high schools in the Bronx,
and on the Staten Island Ferry Maintenance Building.
Mayor Bloomberg's ambitious PlaNYC sustainability plan targets a
30% reduction in greenhouse gases in NYC by 2030.The updated
PlaNYC includes initiatives and targets for: Land, Water, Air,
Energy and Transportation, including the very creative Zone
Green, which fosters green buildings.
HTML http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/25368?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SBGeneralNews+%28SustainableBusiness.com+General+News%29
#Post#: 458--------------------------------------------------
Japan Attains 3.9 GW Of PV Installations Since FiT Introduction
By: AGelbert Date: November 26, 2013, 7:26 pm
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Japan Attains 3.9 GW Of PV Installations Since FiT Introduction
Since Japan’s feed-in tariff (FiT) was introduced (July 2012),
its solar photovoltaic generation capacity installed has
amounted to 3.9 GW. In all, approximately 4.086 GW of renewable
power generation capacity was added since July 2012, including
solar, wind, small and medium-sized hydroelectric, biomass, and
geothermal.
Solar accounted for 90% of the renewable energy capacity added
in that time period,[img width=30
height=30]
HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-141113185701.png[/img]<br
/>according to the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and
Industry (METI), which sees this is an indication that its
adoption of solar power is proceeding smoothly. 3.9 GW of growth
over 16 months is at the top of the league. (This is an average
of about a quarter of a GW per month).
According to PV-Tech:
The 3.9GW figure for installed solar energy capacity includes
the figure for residential installations as one category and
utility-scale or commercial use as a separate category.
According to METI in the year between July 2012 and the same
period of this year, around 1.521GW of residential solar was
installed along with just under 2.4GW of commercial and utility
scale.
As has been widely reported, the figure for completed
utility-scale ‘mega solar’ projects in particular has not been
matched by the amount of capacity put in the ground. The
ministry’s figures reveal that the 2.4GW of installed commercial
scale solar capacity is still dwarfed by the corresponding
figure for approved utility scale projects – around 20.3GW. In
contrast, for around 1.521GW of installed residential capacity,
the approved figure was 1.751GW.
This is good news for the country, which has been deterred from
nuclear power by the Fukushima Daiichi incident, which prompted
a nuclear phase-out and, after years, is still not quite under
control. :P
HTML http://cleantechnica.com/2013/11/26/japan-attains-3-9-gw-pv-capacity-since-fit-introduction/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IM-cleantechnica+%28CleanTechnica%29
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