In a new interview with Deutsche Welle, the CEO of a Germany-based global solar developer made a good case for the potential for solar power to become cheaper than coal sooner rather than later. That would be Bernhard Beck, CEO of BELECTRIC. In the interview Beck had some interesting things … [continued]
Solar cells that are cheaper to produce and contain fewer toxic compounds may be a reality in the near future, thanks to new research from Oregon State University. By utilizing a commonly used antifreeze — ethylene glycol — and some other comparatively cheap materials to produce solar cells in a … [continued]
The concept of a liquid, paint-on solar cell is old news these days, but a research team from the University at Buffalo in New York has come up with an interesting new angle. The team is working on a paintable solar material enhanced with nanoparticles of metal, in order to … [continued]
Now that the dust has settled on the Tesla vs. New York Times battlefield, weren’t we just saying that electric vehicles are selling quite well? That’s partly because car manufacturers are pulling out all the stops to get a foothold in the EV market before the competition really heats up. … [continued]
ToughSolar, backed by a UN initiative, aims to offer some 33 million Africans access to clean, renewable solar PV systems. The program’s success would help fight poverty, reduce health risks and environmental degradation and literally empower rural Africans in ways beyond access to clean, renewable electricity.
The Department of Defense has been on a roll with new solar energy installations, but the real action is going on behind the scenes in laboratories where DoD is quietly supporting research into low cost, lightweight solar cells enhanced with quantum dots. In the latest project, researchers from the Army … [continued]
Pioneering one-stop residential solar systems provider Sungevity and Holland multinational Rabobank have teamed up to establish a residential solar fund that will support over $50 million of new residential solar lease projects around the US. Sungevity’s been growing fast lately: monthly sales have grown 10-fold since January while employee headcount has tripled to around 300.
Aiming to drive down costs and make the US solar power industry more competitive, Secretary Chu finalized a conditional $150 million loan guarantee that will enable 1366 Technologies to continue developing its Direct Wafer solar PV manufacturing project.
Solar start-up Semprius is on the verge of generating more than 250 new green jobs over the next five years with a new ultra-small solar cell that is half the size of a pinhead, called a high concentration photovoltaic cell. The company has just announced plans to build a new factory to make the cells in Henderson, NC, which has been struggling with an unemployment rate as high as 13.3 percent this year.
Scientists at Stanford University have given the vision of cheap solar power another nudge along the path to reality. They are working with tiny particles called quantum dots, which can be adjusted or “tuned” to absorb different wavelengths of light. Quantum dots are relatively cheap because they can be churned … [continued]
