All About Solar | Green Energy News

February 28, 2005 – Vol.9 No.49

ALL ABOUT SOLAR.

A new study released by the Energy Foundation says that the U.S. market for grid-connected solar energy could reach 2900 megawatts per year by 2010. However, the solar energy industry must reduce the price of installed solar power to a breakthrough price of $2.00 -2.50 per watt to meet that goal.

The total value of the annual market would be $6.6 billion including the sale of solar equipment and installation. In the state-by-state study the Pacific and Mid-Atlantic states would capture 52 percent of the annual demand for new installations. California alone would have 40 percent of the market.

The report also claims there is no shortage of roofs to put solar equipment on. There’s enough prime rooftop acreage for 710,000 megawatts of solar electric power. The total of all electric power generated in the U.S. today (coal, nuclear, wind, etc.) equals about 950,000 megawatts.

For the report - PV Grid Connected Market Potential in 2010 Under a Cost Breakthrough Scenario - visit the Energy Foundation at http://www.ef.org/ or the report’s authors Navigant Consulting at http://www.navigantconsulting.com/ .

In a less optimistic (but still impressive) scenario for solar power Business Communications Company (BCC) predicts that worldwide shipments of solar modules will reach nearly 2800 megawatts by 2009. BCC says 973.1 megawatts were shipped in 2004. (Shipments would equal installed capacity since presumably every solar module that is shipped gets installed, somewhere.)

The market research company thinks that the cost of solar cells and modules will continue to drop with new technologies, such as dye-sensitized solar cells, contributing to the downward cost trend. In 2004 the value of solar modules shipped was estimated at more than $2.9 billion. By 2009 they say about $5.2 billion should be shipped.

The upcoming report Photovoltaics:Markets and Technologies will be available for a fee ($3950) from BCC at http://www.bccresearch.com/ .

Solar, too, could become a job creator in the U.S. if government steps in to help to the industry regain its title as world leader. Up to 580,000 jobs could be created in the U.S. by 2025 if government adopts a plan known as SHINE developed by the Solar Catalyst Group and Clean Edge, a publishing and research firm.

Within the SHINE (Solar High-Impact National Energy) Project three programs would be offered by government:

1) The Solar Utilization National Underwriting Plan (SUNUP) - a federal block grant program to provide matching funds to states to implement solar installation programs.

2) The U.S. Rooftop Initiative for Solar Energy (U.S. Rise) - a commitment for the federal government to buy solar systems for facilities and operations.

3) American Solar Advancement Prize (ASAP) - a competition (like the X-Prize) with a hefty reward to develop dramatically cheaper solar technology. (The X-Prize helped send a manned, non-government, spacecraft into space twice in as many weeks)

SHINE authors say 280,000 megawatts of solar energy capacity would be developed by 2025 under SHINE - enough power for 48 million homes. For a free copy of the report visit Solar Catalyst at http://www.solarcatalyst.org/ .

If the cost of solar photovoltaics is to drop dramatically new technologies will have to be developed - and maybe progress is being made.

DayStar Technologies has unveiled a high-efficiency, silicon-free, solar technology it calls LightFoil (tm). LightFoil utilizes CIGS (copper indium gallium diselenide) solar cell chemistry bonded on thin titanium foil. The result is thinner than household aluminum foil, flexible and very light-weight. Solar-to-electric conversion efficiency is more than 15 percent in a laboratory setting the company says, about 50 percent higher than any other thin-film technology

DayStar has been developing LightFoil for applications such as high altitude airships or winged unmanned aerial vehicles where low weight is required. The big advantage for LightFoil, however, may eventually be in its low manufacturing costs. From its inception LightFoil was developed with high-volume manufacturing in mind. Visit DayStar at http://www.daystartech.com/ .

As the report by Business Communications suggests, dye-sensitized solar technology may have a future. The technology works - will generate electricity - but to date efficiencies have been low - 5 percent or so at best.

Konarka Technologies has announced it has received a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation that will be used to further develop the company’s light-activated power plastic - its dye-sensitized solar cells.

The company’s goal is to bring efficiencies up to 10 percent, or higher, by enhancing the ability of its dyes and additives to capture more of the solar spectrum. Visit Konarka at http://www.konarka.com/ .

As the studies predict, solar generating capacity is set to grow - and it is.

The Las Vegas Valley Water District and Nevada Power have announced plans to build a 3.1 megawatt solar project. Consisting of seven different arrays, the solar power will be used for water pumping and distribution. (And aside from the emission-free power, one of the arrays will become a sun shade for 200 cars.)

The project will be built by PowerLight and be completed this year. Visit PowerLight at http://www.powerlight.com/ .

In a single-use water pumping project, WorldWater and Power has announced it has signed a contract valued at $1.8 million to install a solar-powered 200-horsepower water pump at a California tree farm.

The company calls its proprietary solar water pumping installations AquaMax (tm). An AquaMax system has been recently completed for the Seley Ranches, a citrus farm in California and another system is now underway for the Idyllwild Water District (California) that will power seven water pumps. Visit WorldWater at http://www.worldwater.com/ .

At the home-power level GE (now busy in its solar business) has announced it was the provider of 2.64 kilowatt solar systems installed as options for sixteen homes built in a new development in New York state. The homes, 50 miles up the Hudson River from New York City, are connected to the power grid operated by Central Hudson Gas and Electric.

The advantage of solar systems installed when a house is built is that the cost of the system can be included in the mortgage, thus defrayed over time. (The math is interesting. Interest is paid on the system but rates are low, and tax deductible. Power is generated so electric bills are reduced for the life of the system. But, power from the grid is expected to rise, adding to solar’s economic appeal.)

Prime Energy Solutions was the installer of the systems. Visit GE Energy at http://www.gepower.com/ Prime Energy at http://www.prime-nrg.com/ .