CO2 levels already in danger zone

Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have entered the danger zone and must be reduced if climate disasters are to be averted,
according to researchers.

US, British and French scientists, including two from Yale, said in a study that optimum CO2 level should be less than 350 parts per million (ppm) - a dramatic change from most studies that have pegged the danger level for CO2 at 450 ppm or higher.

Atmospheric CO2 is currently 385 ppm and is increasing by about two ppm every year from the burning of coal, oil, gas and forests.

"This work and other recent publications suggest that we have reached CO2 levels that compromise the stability of the polar ice sheets," said author Mark Pagani, Yale professor of geology and geophysics.

"How fast ice sheets and sea level will respond are still poorly understood, but given the potential size of the disaster, I think it's best not to learn this lesson firsthand," he said.

The statement is based on improved data on the earth's climate history and ongoing observations of change, especially in the polar regions, said an Yale University release.

The authors use evidence of how the earth responded to past changes of CO2 along with more recent patterns of climate changes to show that atmospheric CO2 has already entered a danger zone.

Coal is the largest source of atmospheric CO2 and the one that would be most practical to eliminate. Oil resources already may be about half depleted, depending upon the magnitude of undiscovered reserves, and it is still not practicable to capture CO2 emerging from vehicle tailpipes, the way it can be with coal-burning facilities, note the scientists, the study said.

These findings have been published in Open Atmospheric Science Journal.
Source : The Times of India

College focuses on Green Technology

New Delhi: Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, University of Delhi, presented Convergence 2008, on Innovating Change, at India Habitat Centre from October 31 – November 1, 2008. The event was focused on the use of Green technology in corporate sector.

Each year the college adopts a highly relevant topic to broaden the horizon of knowledge. This year the theme of seminar was Innovating Change. The innovation is about generating new ideas that will prevent the company from stagnation by giving its product and services a competitive edge.

Mr. N.K. Khosla, Exec, Director, IOC and Mr. Raj Dutta, Exec, Director, Quatrro inaugurated the seminar with the lamp lighting ceremony with Dr. Poonam Verma , Principal, SSCBS. Mr. Pradeep Gupta, Chairman- SSCBS and Prof. Dinesh Singh, Director, South Campus, Delhi University were also the part of the opening ceremony.

The first day of the seminar was on Green technology. In the first session, Dr. Bhure Lal, Chairman, Environment and Pollution Authority, focused on the need to utilize Solar Energy to save the earth from environmental crises. The other eminent panelists were Mrs. Nimisha Garg, Director, SolarIndiaOnline.com and Ms Livleen Kahlon, EEA TERI. They discussed about environmental problems like Global Warming and its impact.

In the second session, speakers from Crisil, EVI and Nokia focused their views on the opportunities that lie in using the green technology and the ‘Need of Green Technology in India’. This session was followed by the session on hurdles where speakers from industries like Tata BP Solar, Mahindra and Niesbud spoke on the hurdles, which companies face in going green. However the most appreciated event of the day was the Big Fight on “Are we comprising on long term sustainable development for short term growth?” among industrialist, academicians, environmentalist with the help of a moderator.
JK Tyres was the title sponsor for the event and the other partners were Pepsi, NDTV.com and Fever104. SolarIndiaOnline.com was the online partner for the event.

How solar power works

Solar energy is a tried and tested power source that is already being used around the world for numerous commercial, industrial, government and domestic applications. It is powering water pumps in African villages, weather stations in the Antarctic and satellites in space!

It works by transforming the energy from the sun into a reusable form of electricity, a process known as Photovoltaic (or PV for short). Your Solar panel acts as a collecting tray, helping you catch the sun’s rays. The bigger the panel, the more energy you can collect. The energy collected is stored for your future use in a battery.

Sometimes you collect more energy than you actually need so with larger panels a voltage regulator should be fitted to control the flow of energy and prevent battery damage.

It would be hard to find a more environmentally friendly power supply. Clean and green, solar power is a renewable, sustainable and non-polluting source of energy. It is easy to see the appeal of solar power for domestic use. Low maintenance and long lasting, it is
a highly cost-effective and reliable energy supply.

All Solar panels come with a 10 year guarantee and a 20 year performance guarantee on the cells.

Solar Energy : Solution to India’s Energy crisis

US Congress feel that the immediate solution to India's energy problem lies in tapping of solar energy. According to the United Nations Human Development report, India suffers a huge power deficit with over 400 million of its billion-plus people having no access to electricity.

Considering this, the scientists believe that government should concentrate on tapping the conventional sources of energy like wind and solar energy to meet the country's immediate energy requirements.

"Although we have got nuclear deal it would take some time before the deal actually materializes in terms of electrical supply. Where as the solar energy is available, right now various ways of tapping the solar energy is possible. The cells are easily available and you can convert the solar energy into electricity and use it for various appliances," said Professor T Michael Kumar, Director, School of Mechanical Science, Karunya University.

Most parts of the country receive clear sunshine for major part of the year. However, only about 1, 748 MW power is produced from solar energy while India needs 1,30,000 MW of electricity every year. Solar energy with an appropriate technology promises to be one of the most replenishing, pollution free and inexhaustible sources of energy.

Live Earth concert to promote Solar Energy.

India will host the next Live Earth concert to raise funds for lighting homes with solar energy in places where people do not have access to electricity. Live Earth concert has become something of a global movement with its mission to use the “power of entertainment” to “ignite global movements” on environmental issues.
The concert will be held in India's financial capital Mumbai on December 7, 2008. The event will feature U.S. rocker Jon Bon Jovi and Bollywood's biggest superstar, Amitabh Bachchan and environmental advocates and many other international celebrities. The concert bash will take place at Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai.
Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore has said that India should lead the world by committing to produce all of its new energy from clean and renewable sources within the next 10 years.
The proceeds from the concert will go to the "Light A Billion Lives campaign," supported by Nobel Prize-winner Rajendra Pachauri, the chairman of the United Nation's Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Emmy-winning concert producer Kevin Wall disclosed that the creative director for Live Earth India would be film director and producer Shekhar Kapur. Organisers said they would set up giant screens and distribute televisions in remote villagers for the concert.

Students develop car that runs on solar energy

A group of engineering students at Mary Matha Engineering College, Paliyode, Thiruvananthapuram, has designed a car and termed it as "a compact vehicle which works with a hub motor, utilising electricity, charged by solar panels."
The use of electricity makes the innovation eco-friendly as well as noise-free. The battery of the car can be charged with the help of direct sunlight using the solar panels, said a communication from the students.
The major feature of the new type car is that the driver's seat can be rotated 180 degrees and the entire control of the vehicle like steering, accelerator and head lights are connected to the seat so that the concept of reverse driving becomes obsolete. The car can travel at 40 km per hour.
The innovators are Aristotle Ashok, Unnikrishnan M.A., Saji M.P., Titto B.S., Rahul S.L. and Ajith C.G. with guidance from their instructor Shyam Kumar.

SolarIndiaOnline.com

The final version of the website has been launched.

www.solarindiaonline.com

We will try our best to keep you update about the latest happenings of the industry.

Thanks...

Technical errors

Hi,
Thank you for making SolarIndiaOnline.com a sucess. The trial version of the website was launched on 21st of August 2008. And in period of its trial version of 50 days, the website has received tremendous support and appreciation from industry leaders. We are received near about 6,000hits and received more than 20 queries for setting up solar plants & solar lights in hospitals, petrol pumps and schools.

SolarIndiaOnline.com is in the final phase of uploading the final version of the website. During the process we might be facing some technical errors.
Therefore you might find some of the links and photographs not in place.
We are trying are best to avoid errors and provide you a website with correct information.

Sorry for any kind of inconvenience .


Regards
Team SolarIndiaOnline.com

Solar Powered Rickshaws launched in New Delhi.

Soleckshaws or solar-electric rickshaws were launched in Dehi, on Oct 2, 2008, by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. Initially, they will be offered to rickshaw -pullers in the Old Delhi area.

The Mark-I Soleckshaws (first version) have been developed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).The CSIR has said that the dual-powered Solecshaws have been developed to provide employment to the masses, and to reduce pollution in the city. Unlike any other vehicles, the Soleckshaws have no carbon footprint and does not use up limited fossil fuel.
The design and prototype of the Soleckshaws have been developed by the Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI). It took eight months to design and develop the Soleckshaws.
The solar electric rickshaw can seat two passengers; can carry a payload of 200 kg, excluding the driver. The Soleckshaw will be battery operated that will be charged by solar energy. The electric motor in the solar electric rickshaw is powered by a low power high torque brushless DC motor and will move the three wheels of the rickshaw. Pedalling is an option, if more speed is required.
The Soleckshaws will come with mobile recharging facilities and FM radio. They are priced at at Rs 7,000, at par with the older manual cyclerickshaws. They are of the same size and shape approximately as the pedal-powered rickshaws - so they will be able to navigate straight and uphills roads easily, without any strain of imbalance.
The Soleckshaws were launched at the Chandni Chowk metro station, in Old Delhi. A battery -re-charge station has been set up by the Central Electronics Limited (CEL) near the Chandni Chowk Metro station. The battery can run for 70 kms. The cost of recharging the battery is Rs 45. Rickshaw-pullers will be provided with an alternative battery for the time that his battery is being re-charged.
The pilot project will be spearheaded by the Centre for Rural Development (CRD. The advanced versions of the Soleckshaws, Mark-II and Mark-III will be ready in 2010, before the commonwealth games. The Mark-II and Mark-III Soleckshaws will have better speed, seats and driving position.

First annual Solar PV Conclave releases the much awaited report.

SolarIndiaOnline.com the online partner for the conclave.

The India Semiconductor Association (ISA), the trade body representing the Indian Semiconductor driven industry launched the report on “Solar PV Industry : Global and Indian Scenario” along with the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) at the inaugural session of the first annual Solar PV Conclave 2008 held in New Delhi. The conclave was supported by MNRE, TiE and Sandisk. SolarIndiaOnline.com was the online partner of the conclave.

Padma Vibhushan Dr. V Krishnamurthy – Chairman of NMCC was the chief guest of the show and released the report with Shri. V Govindarajan, Member Secretary, NMCC. Dr. Krishnamurthy said that NMCC has provided a National Solar Mission to Prime Minister and asked to give Solar a special status like Atomic and Space research.

Mr. Shubhranshu Patnaik, Executive Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers, presented the report findings in the first session of the conclave. The study provides the current status and future trends in solar PV manufacturing, technology, R&D, market dynamics, financial aspects and industry challenges. It also benchmarks the government policy initiatives and market drivers in leading countries in this sector. The support and guidance of NMCC and other stakeholders has provided ISA with an opportunity to present a comprehensive report and credible data on the solar PV industry.

The executive summary of the report will be available on SolarIndiaOnline.com in the coming weeks.

The conclave was concluded with CEO Panel discussion on Driving towards Grid Parity: Innovations and Roadmap. Key industry players like Moserbaer, Reliance, Applied Materials, Titan Energy were the part of the conclave. The Conclave organized by ISA brought together domestic and global leaders in the solar PV space to discuss the international and national policies and focus on developing India's strengths.

R – Power plans to invest over Rs. 600 billion in Renewable Energy

Possibilty of setting up Concentrating Solar Plant by R- Power
Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG)-promoted Reliance Power (R-Power) is planning to invest over Rs 600 billion (Rs60,000 crore) in renewable and alternative energy resources such as hydroelectric, wind, solar and fuel cell-based power.
At the AGM of the company, Mr. Anil Ambani, the Chairman said, “Recent initiatives announced by the Government of India for Grid Interactive Multi-Megawatt Solar Thermal Power had given a boost to the solar power market in the country”. Adding, he said that R-Power is considering the possibility of setting up a one-of-its-kind, 100 MW grid interactive concentrating solar power (CSP) plant through an exclusive alliance with a technology provider.
Plans in other renewable energy sector include 500 MW of wind power over the next 3 years, and about 2000MW from hydroelectric energy
The global financial crisis would not affect the company's fund-raising plans as its balance sheet was well capitalised through money raised from its recent initial public offer (IPO). The company had mobilised around Rs 11,500 crore through the IPO.

Moser Baer receives Rs 415 cr from global investors

Moser Baer India's wholly owned photovoltaic (PV) subsidiary has received in full the agreed capital injection of Rs 415 crore from a consortium of global investors to fund the capacity expansion of its high efficiency crystalline silicon and thin film solar verticals.
The company currently has an annual capacity of 120 Mw, including 40 Mw of amorphous silicon Gen 8.5 thin film modules. The investment is intended to fund the expansion of the crystalline silicon cell manufacturing to 180 Mw and amorphous silicon thin film to 120 Mw.
Earlier this month, the company had announced signing of definitive contracts with global investors, including Nomura, CDC Group, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, IDFC PE and IDFC. This straight equity transaction values the company’s PV business at over Rs 6,350 crore ($1.44 billion) while the investors are entitled to a 6.5 per cent stake in the business.

ISA to release first ever report on Indian Solar PV industry.

Solar India Online - the online partner.

The India Semiconductor Association (ISA), the trade body representing the Indian semiconductor driven industry will launch the "ISA- NMCC report on the Solar PV industry: Global and India scenario, 2008". The study has been supported by National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) and Government of India. ISA has carried out this study in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The report will be released at the first annual ‘Solar PV conclave 2008' to be held on September 29, 2008 at New Delhi. The conclave will include sessions on topics like policy framework, financing, market applications, roadmaps and innovation related to the industry. SolarIndiaOnline.com is the online partner for the event.

Padma Vibhushan Dr Krishnamurthy, Chairman, NMCC will inaugurate the conclave. Senior Government of India officials including Mr. Govindarajan, Member Secretary, NMCC and Mr. Deepak Gupta, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) will be among the key speakers at the conclave.

Poornima Shenoy, President, ISA said, "ISA has strategic aspirations to map the value chain for Solar PV in the country. Our members in the chip design, EDA and Solar PV space are demanding increased activity in this area. India has the opportunity to being a fore runner in this field.” Key industry players like Applied Materials, Moser Baer, BEL, and Solar Signet have provided invaluable inputs.

New investments in semiconductor sector nearly Rs. 55,000 crore.

Government's new policy for semiconductor fabs and eco-system units has led to a flow of investments in this sector, which has attracted three new solar photovoltaic (PV) proposals worth nearly Rs.55, 000 crore in the last two months. With that the overall proposals under the scheme reached to 14 with a total investment of about Rs.1, 36, 000 crore.
New investments plans came from Vavasi Telegence which would invest about Rs.39,000 crore for solar photovoltaic and polysilicon unit, EPV Solar, which has plans to invest about Rs. 4,000 crore for solar photovoltaic unit and Lanco Solar, with an investment of Rs.12,938 core in solar PV and polysilicon unbit.

A committee of experts had its first meeting to evaluate the projects from technology standpoint. Moreover, experts inputs is critical in evaluation of the projects as Special Incentive Package Scheme (SIPS) which notified last year to encourage investment for semiconductor fabrication and other micro nano technology manufacturing industries, has emphasized on latest technology.

Earlier, proposals had also came from Reliance to start a semiconductor wafer fab worth Rs.18, 521 crore and Videocon to set up a LCD fab of Rs.8, 000 crore. Apart from that, Moser Baer PV Technologies, Titan Energy Systems, KSK Energy Ventures, Signet Solar, Phoenix Solar India, Tata BP Solar India, Solar Semiconductor, and TF SolarPower have proposals to invest in solar PV space.

Solar Light replaces Moon Light to beam a village.

In Gudda, a village with very little, residents are literally beaming. Just two years ago, villagers had never seen light after dark, unless it came from the moon. Then, solar light arrived and changed everything.
About Gudda
• Location: Gudda is about 300 miles southwest of Delhi
• Population: About 500 people live in the village
• Work: Most residents are farmers and sheep breeders
• Main crop: Millet
• Other facts: Water is scarce and there is no power except for solar electricity
The light is powered by a solar panel on the roof that charges a battery. Panels can be seen on almost every rooftop in Gudda. Ram, the man credited with the transformation, doesn't have a high school degree. But he did attend an institution about an hour away called Barefoot College, established 35 years ago with an emphasis on helping India's rural population find solutions for their problems among themselves.
On a recent visit to the main college campus, a group of village women was hard at work making solar cookers, which can boil a liter of water in eight minutes. They are part of the "Women Barefoot Solar Cooker Engineers Society" -- six women who came together and started their own business.
People of Gudda say the Solar lights have allowed them to increase their business by a third. The panels also have powered up the only DVD player and television in the village. The villagers say that they now feel empowered and less reliant on a far-off government.
Nobody in the village knew what artificial light was, and now, every home in the village has Solar Lanterns.

Photon Energy Systems becomes SolarIndiaOnline.com Associate

Photon Energy System joins hands with SolarIndiaOnline.com and has become its associate. Photon Energy Systems Limited (Photon), an ISO 9001 : 2000 certified unit, was established in 1995, as a private company, to manufacture Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Modules, PV Systems and Solar Thermal products. It is headquartered at Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, with marketing offices in India (Bangalore, Pune, Ludhiana, Coimbatore and Raipur) and overseas (South Africa).
The company commenced operations in 1997-98, with financial assistance from Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd (IREDA). The initial capacity of 3.0 MWp has been increased to 30 MWp currently. It has also planned to increase the capacity to 50 MW by July 2008 and further to 100 MW by mid 2009.
SolarIndiaOnline.com is excited to have one of the Solar Industry leaders as their Associates.

Solar signals to direct Delhi Traffic.

New Delhi: The Capital is now looking at installing solar-powered traffic signals at major intersections in the city. With this, traffic jams caused by signals rendered non-functional due to power failure or heavy rain may soon become a thing of the past. The traffic police is also installing invertors for back-up at major points.

The technology is expensive — the main reason why the traffic police has stayed away from it — and also high on maintenance. Apart from the usual checking of bulbs and wires, the solar panel put up on every signal also needs to be cleaned on a regular basis. But, the signals are not dependent on power supply and will ensure that traffic movement doesn’t get affected by power cuts.

Experts feel that a futuristic technology, solarisation, is an efficient means, provided the power is efficiently stored. The traffic police will need to ensure that signals are operational at night too, and this can only be done if the power absorbed during the day is stored. Solar powered signals are more energy efficient. So, the operational costs will be lower.

Once the technology is tested, the signals will be introduced at all the 702 signalised intersections in the city in a phased manner. The traffic police is, reportedly, in talks with a Bangalore-based firm for the same, but a final decision is still awaited.

The signals are made of maintenance-free LEDs, which offer clear visibility even during adverse weather conditions. They are eco-friendly and consume very little power, fitted with countdown timers to save fuel and reduce pollution levels. They also have vehicle actuated traffic controllers for better efficiency.

The first lot of solar signals were installed in the Capital a decade ago in 1998, at three intersections — Chandgiram Akhara crossing in north Delhi, Moolchand crossing in south Delhi and IGI crossing near the airport. These signals were later also tried out on National Highway-8 by the traffic police. Of all these, only one solar powered signal — at Chandgiram Akhara — is still functional.

GREEN LIGHTS ON DELHI ROADS

No of signalised intersections - 702

No of more signals to be added | About 25

No of solar signals in city - 1 (3 istalled)

Solar energy can meet all the world's energy demands.

"The Solar Energy resource is enormous, and distributed all over the world, in all countries and also oceans. There is thus an enormous resource available from photovoltaics, which can be used everywhere, and can in principle cover all the world energy demand from a renewable, safe and clean source,” said Daniel Lincot, the chairman of the five-day European Photovoltaic Solar Energy conference held in Valencia.
Lincot, the research director of the Paris-based Institute for Research and Development of Photovoltaic Energy, said solar energy was growing rapidly but still made only a "negligible" contribution to total energy supply. Last year the world production of photovoltaic models represented a surface of 40 square kilometres (16 square miles) while meeting the electrical consumption of countries like France or Germany would require 5,000 square kilometers, he said.
Under current scenarios, Photovoltaic models will represent about 1,000 square kilometers by 2020 accounting for about only 3.0 percent of energy needs in the 27-member European Union, he added.
Over 200 scientists and Solar power experts have signed a declaration calling on the accelerated deployment of photovoltaic power which was launched at the conference. More than 3,500 experts and 715 sector firms took part in the gathering, billed as the largest conference ever organized in the field of photovoltaic conversion of solar energy. Germany and Spain are the world leaders in solar energy power. Germany has 4,000 megawatts of installed capacity while Spain has 600 megawatts.

Moser Baer to raise Rs4.11bn

Moser Baer India Ltd. has announced that its wholly owned photovoltaic (PV) subsidiary has entered into definitive agreements to raise Rs4.11bn from a consortium of global investors, including Nomura, CDC Group, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, IDFC PE and IDFC.
This huge investment will help in Moser Baer growth plans. The investment will significantly be used to fund the expansion of the Crystalline Silicon Cell manufacturing to 180 MW, presently it is 120 MW and Amorphous Silicon Thin Film to 120 MW from 40MW.
Mr. Ratul Puri, Executive Director, was very much excited with the growth in their PV business. This funding allows Moser Baer to develop a significant global multi-technology platform and consolidate their leadership position on the global photovoltaic business.
Moser Baer’s previous private equated funding transaction was Rs. 4bn in November 2007. In all, wholly owned subsidiary would have been raised to Rs. 8.11bn for private funding. The transaction values Moser Baer's PV business at Rs. 63.5bn (US$1.44bn).

DuPont opens solar business in India

DuPont has opened a solar-materials business in India to help capture part of the rapidly growing market.
DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions will sell films, resins, encapsulant sheets, flexible substrates and conductive pastes for both crystalline silicon and thin film modules to the Asian nation's solar industry.
The company expects the photovoltaic market to grow by 50 percent in "each of the next few years," and expects some of its industry sales could top $1 billion within the next five years.
"Driven by India's geographical location, government incentives to promote renewable energy and increasing energy requirements in the country, India will emerge as a large manufacturing base for photovoltaic cell and module production," Balvinder S. Kalsi, president and chief executive of DuPont India, said in a news release.

Punjab ties up with MNC to set up Solar Power Plant

Mohali: The Government of Punjab is planning to set up a 250 mega watt (MW) Solar Energy Power generation plant, the largest in India, in collaboration with an American company.

The state Minister for Environment and Non-Conventional Energy Bikramjit Singh Majithia, did not reveal the name of the company but said that the company has already set up a 250 mega watt solar generations plant in Texas, USA and has now offered to set up a similar plant here. The company will also be offering power at competitive rates.The state is now waiting for the chief minister’s approval.

The Punjab Government is looking for a large chunk of land in the state which could meet the vast land requirements of such a huge Solar generation power plant.
The state had also asked an Israel-based company to set up a pilot one mega watt solar power plant on a piece of land available with the National Institute of Renewable Energy in Kapurthala.

Suniva and Titan Energy Systems in Cell Supply Agreement.

Titan Energy Systems Ltd., the India-based solar module manufacturer, has entered into a contract worth more than US$480 million with Suniva for the supply of high-efficiency monocrystalline Solar cells.
The take-or-pay agreement is scheduled to see the delivery of the cells from Suniva's Atlanta facility through 2013.
Rao SYS Chodagam, Managing Director of Titan believes that Suniva's optimized Solar cells fit well with Titan's high-efficiency module application platform, and this agreement will allow Titan to diversify its quality supply chain.

Renewable Energy India Expo in New Delhi

The Renewable Energy India 2008 Expo, the largest fair on renewable energy in India was held in Pragati Maidan for 3 days starting from 21^st of August 2008.

Inaugurating the event, Mr. Vilas Muttemwar, Hon'ble Minister Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy, urged the gathering to not just consider renewable as an attractive business proposition but as a duty and responsibility of every individual to find and use environment friendly ways of generating energy. Keen to promote new projects, the Minister promised to welcome practical suggestions from the industry leaders. The show had huge response from the Indian as well as global leaders of this industry

Many important sessions were also held during the day with key industry spokespersons and experts sharing their opinion with the visitors. The first conference session of the days focused on various aspects of wind energy sector, the second day focused on Solar energy sector and the third day was on bio and hydro energy sector. The event concluded with a conference on Youth summit, educating and need of awareness among youth about renewable energy.

The event was organized by Exhibitions India group. More than 200 exhibitors and major players of the industry were the part of the expo. International exhibitors were amazed with the participation as it was three times more than the last year.

Solar energy gets glamorous and ‘Unforgettable support’

"The Unforgettable Tour" of Amitabh Bachchan will be really Unforgettable Tour because they are not only entertaining the people over the world but they are going to spend some part of profit of the very good cause. Amitabh Bachchan and Wizcraft (event organizing company) have teamed up with Rajendra Pachauri, head of the Nobel Prize-winning United Nations climate panel, to help raise money for a project that will generate power for 100 villages in Asia and Africa.

Mr. Bachchan, along with Abhishek, Aishwarya , Preity Zinta, Ritesh Deshmukh are involved in the 'Light A Billion Lives' campaign, which aims to provide solar lanterns in villages spread across nine countries. The film stars will raise money and work for the campaign initiated by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in India during their concert tour in North America and Europe.

With the film stars entering to support the cause, Mr. Pachauri (also heads TERI) is quite confident that they will able to achieve the target by February 2009 and this will also help to raise awareness about this cause.

At least 1.6 billion people worldwide do not have access to electricity; the 'Light A Billion Lives' campaign would target villages in countries like India, Myanmar, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Malawi.

Priety Zinta, the 33 year old actress is also very excited to be involved in this campaign and believes everyone from the industry should come ahead and support campaigns like these.

Solar rickshaws in old Delhi soon

The Government of Delhi will introduce solar rickshaws in the Chandni Chowk area of old Delhi. On this Gandhi Jayanti, solar rickshaws will replace man-pulled pedicabs in the Chandni Chowk area of old Delhi. Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, who also represents the constituency in parliament, advised the Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to introduce these green vehicles from October 2.

The rickshaw would weigh 210 kg and would be able to run at a speed of 15 to 20 km per hour, reports IANS. It will run by a solar battery, which would suffice for a journey of 70 km. The battery would take five hours to be charged with the help of solar panels in the charging unit which will be functional above the Delhi metro stations, an official of the city government said.

It is expected that these rickshaws would ply within a radius of 3 km from the Chandni Chowk metro station. The solar powered rickshaws in Chandni Chowk would be a pilot project and its success will pave the way for implementation in other areas. Chief Minister of Delhi expressed confidence that the project will be eco-friendly, passenger-friendly and suitable for a locality like Chandni Chowk. The rickshaw would cost approximately Rs 17,000.

The much awaited site for the solar industry in India has now been uploaded on the server.

SolarIndiaOnline.com (www.solarindiaonline.com)is an initiative of professionals to promote the development of Solar Industry. Our associates span across the globe and include various experts in the industry along the wide spectrum of research, manufacturing and marketing.

The group offers various services in:

* Setting up solar energy and product production units
* Setting up solar farms
* Establishing contact between buyers and suppliers of raw materials and products
* Assistance in compliance with Regulatory Issues in India
* Planning and organizing finance requirements
* Research Services

The site was launched with the Renewable Energy Expo 2008, on 21st August 2008.
A great step to promote Solar Industry in India.

BioSolar Reveals Secret of Less Costly Solar Power: Cotton and Caster Beans

Bio Solar Unveils Highly-Anticipated Details Behind its BioBacksheet™ Solar Cell Component at Today's SPIE Symposium on Solar Applications and Energy in San Diego

Santa Clarita and San Diego, CA – August 12, 2008 – BioSolar, Inc. (OTC BB: BSRC) surprised attendees at today's SPIE Symposium on Solar Applications and Energy in San Diego by revealing that materials derived from cotton and castor beans compose the company's proprietary BioBacksheet™, a protective covering, traditionally made from expensive petroleum-based film, used in the back of virtually all photovoltaic solar cells.

"Until today, this information has remained highly-guarded over the past 18 months as BioSolar established academic and industry credibility," said BioSolar Chairman and CEO, Dr. David Lee. "Now that our technology is strongly protected both domestically and abroad, we are able to share this exciting news with the public."

While not revealing core proprietary or patent-pending elements of the intellectual property, BioSolar's Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Stan Levy, divulged in his presentation today that the bio-based components are a composite of cellulosic material derived from cotton, combined with an arcane nylon (nylon 11) derived from castor beans. Dr. Levy detailed the procedures and results of the company's 18-month product development effort to engineer the BioBacksheet™ from non-food, plant-based materials. He provided an in-depth look at the science and applied technology behind the unique bio-sustainable formulation and state-of-the-art manufacturing processes used to create the company's BioBacksheet™ product. The two sustainably sourced components are combined utilizing the company's proprietary manufacturing process.

"We have demonstrated that functional photovoltaic backsheets can be produced from renewable resources," said Dr. Levy. "We believe that the BioBacksheet™ is a viable alternative to backsheets currently in use. Not only is this product produced from sustainable and renewable resources, but is expected to be more cost effective than the current backsheets."

"Also, manufacturers currently enduring a six-month wait for materials like DuPont's petroleum-based Tedlar protective material will undoubtedly be interested in this development," added Dr. Lee.

Dr. Levy further highlighted the fact that the materials – both individually and in combination – meet or exceed the characteristics of various testing and performance standards for the photovoltaic industry. While additional testing is being conducted as part of the run-up to full-scale production, no fundamental problems have been found with the product up to this point.

Dr. Lee gave high praise to Dr. Levy and the development team's efforts. Commenting on the response to the presentation, Dr. Lee said, "As a publicly traded company we have a responsibility to our shareholders to maximize the value of their investment. With this presentation, Dr. Levy has laid out the exciting results of the past year-and-a-half's hard work. This tremendous success and the positive feedback from those manufacturers who have been testing our product samples are guiding our drive to full production capacity."

SPIE Optics+Photonics is the largest and most technically prestigious optical sciences and technology meeting in North America. The Solar Energy + Applications track of the conference is dedicated to finding ways to move toward secure, affordable, and environmentally sustainable energy to meet the world's accelerating energy needs.

Solar Energy

Solar energy is energy from the Sun in the form of radiated heat and light. It drives the climate and weather and supports life on Earth. Energy from the sun has many features like global distribution, pollution free nature and present in plenty.
Earth continuously receives 174 PW of incoming solar radiation (insolation) at the upper atmosphere. When it meets the atmosphere, 6% of the insolation is reflected and 16% is absorbed. Average atmospheric conditions (clouds, dust, and pollutants) further reduce insolation traveling through the atmosphere by 20% due to reflection and 3% via absorption. The atmospheric conditions not only reduce the quantity of energy reaching the earth's surface, but also diffuse approximately 20% of the incoming light and filter portions of its spectrum. The remaining is still a vast amount of energy that is available to be harnessed and put to work.
The absorption of solar energy by atmospheric convection (sensible heat transport) and evaporation and condensation of water vapor powers the water cycle and drives the wind. Sunlight absorbed by the oceans and land masses keeps the surface at an average temperature of 14 °C.The total solar energy absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land masses is approximately 3850 zettajoules (ZJ) per year. The Solar Energy travels to the earth at the speed of 1,86,000 miles per second. In one hour more sunlight falls on the earth than what is used by the entire population in one year.