Headliners In The Sun: A Solar News Roundup
by John Laumer, Philadelphia 
on 05.29.08
Record Makes Thin-Film Solar Cell Competitive with Silicon Efficiency
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory have moved closer to creating a thin-film solar cell that can compete with the efficiency of the more common silicon-based solar cell.The copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cell recently reached 19.9 percent efficiency, setting a new world record for this type of cell...
The investment represents one of the largest ever made in solar, and will fund a three-phased manufacturing and expansion strategy to produce the latest generation of thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules.Phase one involves an investment of $600 million which will fund the development of two manufacturing facilities. The first, in Erfurt, Germany will be operational by the third quarter of 2009, and a second facility in Abu Dhabi will begin initial production by the second quarter of 2010.
The US government funds the research, a German firm does the development, and a Middle Eastern firm does a massive scale up. Meanwhile, the US Congress debates how to make more "clean coal" fired electricity.
The world is not "Flat," its' screwed up because of lobbying.
Heres' one more: Winery goes solar with 'Floatovoltaics'
Take nearly 1,000 photovoltaic panels and mount them on 130 pontoons floating in a Napa Valley irrigation pond, and what do you have?A first-of-its-kind solar power array and the latest example of why Northern California's wine industry - with its scores of entrepreneurs and mavericks - is a leader in embracing solar power...Building the solar arrays on water preserved about 1 1/2 acres of valuable Cabernet vineyard acreage from being sacrificed for land-mounted arrays, which would have cost the winery about $150,000 a year in lost earnings.
Covering the irrigation pond also is likely to result in less water loss due to evaporation - and less algae growth.
Image credit::Contractor Headlines, Masdar City.
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Great. Another week, another "breakthrough." When am I actually going to see this stuff in stores or widely available through some kind of installation network. I want my house to be self-sufficient electricity-wise. With all these breakthroughs I should be able to heat my house with electricity generated by my mega-efficient panels so I can ditch this crappy heating oil.
Yes, I'm ranting, but I'm also waiting. What can I buy now that isn't going to require a new mortgage and will give me a ROI of 2-4 years?
"What can I buy now that isn't going to require a new mortgage and will give me a ROI of 2-4 years?"
If such a thing existed you would know all about it and we could shut down most of our power plants tomorrow. The fact is that all of this research takes a long time to get to market. No matter how much money is invested in it.
Its very well to get 1 solar cell in a lab to achieve this but if we just slap a factory together to produce the stuff half of the solar cells produced aren't gonna work properly if at all and you double the energy payback time of the final module.
Time for transistion from R&D lab to full scale production can be greater than 10 years. And R&D lab results will rarely be achieved consistantly.