All About Solar | Green Energy News

April 30, 2006 – Vol.11 No.6

ALL ABOUT SOLAR.

This week’s news...

Shell, Honda, Daystar, HelioVolt are all pursuing non-silicon photovoltaic solar power.

Now another solar company is about to include silicon-free solar in its product line - Spire Solar.

Spire has announced that through its subsidiary, Bandwidth Semiconductor, the company will now offer custom GaAs (Gallium Arsenide) concentrating solar cells for terrestrial applications.

GaAs solar cells hold the record for solar to electric conversion of over 32 percent. The cells can operate in sunlight concentrated to over 2000 Suns and they are durable: the two Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity use GaAs solar cells and have been operating on the surface of the harsh, cold, red planet for over 2 years, well beyond their original mission.

The demand for solar power and the global shortage of polycrystalline silicon encouraged Spire to make the move to include silicon-free solar. The high efficiency of the GaAs cells along with the added bonus of the ability to operate in high levels of concentrated sunlight contributed to the decision. Visit Spire Solar at http://www.spirecorp.com/

The success of green energy, including solar energy, is as much about education as it is about the technologies themselves. The more people know, the more people will realize that alternatives to fossil fuels are available .

The Department of Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara is offering two films on solar energy to be used as educational material or for general audiences.

Available on one DVD the documentary “The Power of the Sun” discusses the history of solar energy going as far back as Isaac Newton and gives insight to the logic of solar power.

The Power of the Sun is narrated by John Cleese of Monty Python fame.

The Science of the Silicon Cell, geared towards high school seniors and college freshmen, talks about the chemistry behind the most predominant solar electric conversion devices.

The DVD is available for $10 from UC Santa Barbara at

http://www.powerofthesun.ucsb.edu or http://www.ucsbstuff.com