• Oerlikon Solar’s Micromorph® end-to-end production line enabled rapid path to production
• Pramac Group facility could nearly double Switzerland’s solar photovoltaic capacity in just one year
• 150 high-tech jobs created in the region
Riazzino/Trubbach, 23 July 2009 – The Pramac Group and Oerlikon Solar announced today that production has begun at Switzerland’s largest solar module manufacturing facility. Oerlikon Solar’s leading Micromorph® endto- end manufacturing solution enabled Pramac to reach production just seven months after completing their facility. The plant, near Locarno, Switzerland, will produce 30 MWp (megawatt peak) of thin-film solar panels each year and create 150 high-tech jobs in the region.
“We are pleased to begin production so soon after building our factory, because it allows us to address the fast-growing solar market and gain a return on our investment more quickly,” said Paolo Campinotti, CEO of Pramac Group. “Pramac is benefitting from Oerlikon Solar’s renown technology, ramp-up experience and reputation to deliver in the solar world.”
In the capital-intensive solar module manufacturing business, it is important to minimize the amount of time between the start of construction and the start of commercial production and revenues. Implementing an end-to-end solution can reduce the delay and uncertainty of construction time, production ramp-up and module certification.
“We look forward to supporting Pramac as they further expand their production of
thin-film solar modules,” said Jeannine Sargent, CEO of Oerlikon Solar. “Working with our partners, we are committed to making solar power affordable and competitive with other forms of electricity generation. We are especially pleased to participate in launching Switzerland’s first thin-film silicon module volume production line based upon our Micromorph® technology, which was invented here in Switzerland, in Neuchâtel.”
A quarter of a million modules per year
This phase of the Pramac facility will produce approximately 250,000 solar modules each year. One year’s worth of output from the facility would be able to cover the approximate area of all of the currently installed photovoltaic installations in Switzerland.
With Oerlikon Solar’s innovative thin-film photovoltaic manufacturing technology, solar modules can be produced for 30 percent less than conventional siliconwafer- based technology. Based on predicted market growth, Pramac plans to expand the plant’s capacity over the coming years. The factory will employ nearly 150 people, and is Pramac’s first solar production location.
Oerlikon Solar Customer Momentum
Worldwide, 10 companies have contracted with Oerlikon Solar to build thin-film manufacturing lines since 2006. Oerlikon Solar’s customers will represent more than 600 megawatts of current thin-film solar production around the globe.
Several of them have signed long-term supply agreements to distribute the modules produced by Oerlikon Solar’s equipment, demonstrating strong market demand for thin-film silicon solar modules.
“Just one more milestone in Oerlikon Solar’s mission to make solar power economically viable “
A comprehensive press kit including further information, pictures of the Pramac facility and presentations is available in the media section at www.oerlikon.com
About Oerlikon Solar
Oerlikon Solar offers field proven equipment and end-to-end manufacturing lines for the mass production of thin film silicon solar modules. Engineered to reduce device cost and maximize productivity, its end-to-end solutions are fully automated, high yield, high uptime, and low maintenance.
The production lines are complete systems, yet modular and upgradeable in both throughput and process technology. As a global leader in thin film PV technology, the company provides its customers with extensive experience in both amorphous and high-efficiency Micromorph® tandem technology.
Oerlikon Solar is ranked “global number one solar turnkey line supplier” by VLSI and has been named winner of the 2009 CELL AWARD for the ”best technicalproduct for thin film module manufacturing”.
Oerlikon Solar is headquartered in Switzerland, has over 750 employees in 13 locations world wide and maintains sales and service centres in the USA, Europe and China, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore and Japan.
About Pramac
Pramac is a leading company in the sector of the production and distribution of electrical generation systems and is also active in the sector of handling equipment. The Group is active globally with four production facilities, of which one in Italy (in Casole d’Elsa, Siena) and three abroad (Spain, France and China). It operates a distribution network comprised of 17 commercial branches and employs about 750 people at the Group level. It has recently signed a joint venture agreement with the Prosolia Group for the distribution and installation of photovoltaic panels.
Source: Oerlikon Solar
Showing posts with label Global News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Global News. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Germany's Bauhaus University designs solar-powered cinema
The innovative 'Screenhaus.SOLAR', a modern movie theatre powered by solar technologies, will open in early July 2009 at Germany's Bauhaus-Universität in Weimar. The theatre seeks to demonstrate how architecture and civil engineering can interact with renewable energies and offer functioning, resource-saving solutions worldwide.
The team led by Professors Jürgen Ruth and Rainer Gumpp at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar wanted to create a climate-neutral, easy-to-set-up, yet sophisticated design consisting of renewable materials for the temporary building, Screenhaus.SOLAR. The resulting design is adaptable and easy to use worldwide.
The hull of the 13-metre long structure is both flexible and stable as a hyperboloid structure in three dimensions, two together at the tips of the converging cone. In order to achieve this form, wooden struts were selected and connected to create a strong honeycomb-like structure.
The real highlight of the Screenhaus.SOLAR is, however, the flexible photovoltaic modules, that are affixed to the honeycomb structure. Unlike rigid photovoltaic elements, these solar cells fit the elements of the latest generation of solar cells that envelope the building almost like an item of clothing.
This so-called solar-envelope, the roof system, delivers the electricity required throughout a night of cinema. During the day, the modules convert the sunlight into electrical current and feed it into the general network. The energy produced is then used to power the operation of the cinema during the evening hours.
“The goal is to provide the climate neutral screening of films exclusively from the captured sunlight,” explains Roth. “In the construction phase itself, the positive energy balance played a role for us. So it was necessary during the building work to also use solar energy.”
A structure well-suited for emergencies
The issue of resource conservation impacted the entire project. The wooden struts for the construction came from a wind power plant that was built in the past year on the campus of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. Moreover, the draft of the screen house is easily transferable to other countries and continents. The structure can be completely dismantled and then easily transported in standard containers for use anywhere in the world.
The structure is created from simple, linear elements, allowing it to be built anywhere in a short time by non-professionals. This is particularly important in areas with weaker infrastructure or following a destructive event. In such situations, the Screenhaus can be used as emergency shelter or as a temporary hospital. The insulation can, if necessary, be easily retrofitted.
"The idea to build a climate-neutral integrated work of art came to us when contemporary construction projects were being sought for the Bauhaus-Jubilee 2009,” says Ruth. “Since we have already received a positive response from all sides with our wind power project, we wanted to further develop this concept.” Professors Ruth and Grumpp used the 5,000 euros in prize money they received for their wind project in 2008 in the framework of the Dr. Tyczka Energy Prize for development of the Screenhaus project.
The Screenhaus.SOLAR will open on 9th July with a screening of a student short film about solar power.
Source: www.german-info.com
The team led by Professors Jürgen Ruth and Rainer Gumpp at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar wanted to create a climate-neutral, easy-to-set-up, yet sophisticated design consisting of renewable materials for the temporary building, Screenhaus.SOLAR. The resulting design is adaptable and easy to use worldwide.
The hull of the 13-metre long structure is both flexible and stable as a hyperboloid structure in three dimensions, two together at the tips of the converging cone. In order to achieve this form, wooden struts were selected and connected to create a strong honeycomb-like structure.
The real highlight of the Screenhaus.SOLAR is, however, the flexible photovoltaic modules, that are affixed to the honeycomb structure. Unlike rigid photovoltaic elements, these solar cells fit the elements of the latest generation of solar cells that envelope the building almost like an item of clothing.
This so-called solar-envelope, the roof system, delivers the electricity required throughout a night of cinema. During the day, the modules convert the sunlight into electrical current and feed it into the general network. The energy produced is then used to power the operation of the cinema during the evening hours.
“The goal is to provide the climate neutral screening of films exclusively from the captured sunlight,” explains Roth. “In the construction phase itself, the positive energy balance played a role for us. So it was necessary during the building work to also use solar energy.”
A structure well-suited for emergencies
The issue of resource conservation impacted the entire project. The wooden struts for the construction came from a wind power plant that was built in the past year on the campus of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. Moreover, the draft of the screen house is easily transferable to other countries and continents. The structure can be completely dismantled and then easily transported in standard containers for use anywhere in the world.
The structure is created from simple, linear elements, allowing it to be built anywhere in a short time by non-professionals. This is particularly important in areas with weaker infrastructure or following a destructive event. In such situations, the Screenhaus can be used as emergency shelter or as a temporary hospital. The insulation can, if necessary, be easily retrofitted.
"The idea to build a climate-neutral integrated work of art came to us when contemporary construction projects were being sought for the Bauhaus-Jubilee 2009,” says Ruth. “Since we have already received a positive response from all sides with our wind power project, we wanted to further develop this concept.” Professors Ruth and Grumpp used the 5,000 euros in prize money they received for their wind project in 2008 in the framework of the Dr. Tyczka Energy Prize for development of the Screenhaus project.
The Screenhaus.SOLAR will open on 9th July with a screening of a student short film about solar power.
Source: www.german-info.com
Venture Capital Investment In Green Technologies Rebounds
Greentech Media released the most recent quarterly data showing that venture capital investment in green technologies totaled $1.2 billion in 85 deals in the second quarter of 2009. This is up from $836 million in 59 deals in the first quarter of 2009.
"The recent quarter's balanced distribution of sectors that attracted capital underscores cleantech's breadth and diversity of opportunity, one of the key drivers behind why cleantech remains an enduring area," said Ira Ehrenpreis, General Partner at cleantech VC, Technology Partners.
Solar power was once again the leading investment segment at more than $330 million. Unlike previous quarters - the second quarter saw a much more balanced distribution across the various sectors with a marked increase in automotive (more than $202 million) and energy storage (more than $180 million).
One of the drivers for steady second quarter venture investment was the promise of stimulus monies offering startup investors a non-dilutive funding source. Meanwhile, early-stage and late-stage investments dominated, while mid-stage funding was harder to come by, and the average round sizes were slightly smaller.
There were no giant $100 million+ solar or biofuel rounds as in 2008.
"Despite the economic slump, VC investors remain optimistic about the greentech sector and eventual exits in this space," said Eric Wesoff, senior analyst at GTM Research and author of the Greentech Innovations Report, a monthly guide to investments and technology trends in greentech.
John Rockwell, founder and Managing Director of Element Partners adds, "The growing belief that credit markets and the economy are on the road to recovery has investors back in the market. Greentech markets are massive and diverse and investors are starting to pour additional money into the next wave of greentech opportunities."
"2009 will be a year of consolidation and development while 2010 and 2011 will be the year greentech breaks. Expect to see IPOs and acquisitions of VC funded firms in solar, smart grid, green buildings and biofuels," Wesoff added.
Source: Solar Daily
Friday, July 10, 2009
World's largest and CO2-neutral inverter factory inaugurated by SMA Solar Technology AG
July, 01, 2009
Today, SMA Solar Technology AG inaugurated its new solar inverter factory. With the inverter factory, SMA is extending its production capacities to four gigawatt and is continuously expanding its successful strategy of flexibility. In the opening speech Chief Executive Officer Günther Cramer pointed out that the new facilities were setting a new trend in terms of CO2 neutral fabrication sites.
About 500 guests attended the inauguration ceremony. Silke Lautenschläger, the Hessian Minister for Environment, Energy, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, gave the official speech.
SMA's new inverter factory which has already been producing since March of this year, is setting new standards in every respect: an annual production capacity of up to four gigawatt on 18,000 square meters make it the world's largest solar inverter factory.
The new factory has the lowest possible energy requirements together with the highest efficiency of consumed energy. Among other standards the building thus complies with the low-energy building concept. In addition, a reduced energy consumption of the production and testing facilities is achieved through efficiency measures in the production process. An optimal use of daylight, intelligent ventilation as well as the use of storage units for heating and cooling complement the energy and building concept.
The electricity and heat demand is covered by renewable energy sources: an integrated PV system with a power of around 1.1 megawatt and a combined heat and power plant fueled with bio-gas generates CO2-neutral electricity. "Green electricity" is additionally purchased in order to cover the total energy consumption of the production facilities. In the long run the CO2 balance will be zero by installing additional photovoltaic systems nearby.
The required heat is produced with the biogas-powered combined heat and power plant. At the same time, the waste heat coming from the compressor for the air powered tools and the lifting gear is utilized for the heating system. The additionally required heat demand is covered by using district heating from a nearby waste incineration plant.
Sufficient cooling is provided as well: an absorption refrigeration machine uses the heat of the combined heat and power plant for air conditioning.
In the new factory the process steps in the production have been completely re-designed in terms of efficiency. Entire production lines can be extended or reconfigured for other device types within shortest notice. This provides maximum flexibility in addition to the "just-in-time" production without warehouse.
"The inverters being the heart of every photovoltaic system already significantly contribute to an emission-free energy supply", Günther Cramer, Chief Executive Officer of SMA Solar Technology AG, explains. "With our CO2-neutral inverter production we even go one step further. Today we can show that an advanced production on industrial level can be done with a minimal environmental footprint. As the worldwide leading producer of solar inverters we now intend to initiate a trend towards CO2-neutral factories".
About SMA Solar Technology AG
With a turnover of more than 680 million euros in 2008, SMA is the global market leader for solar inverters, a central component of every solar power system. The SMA group is headquartered in Niestetal, near Kassel, Germany, and is represented on four continents in ten countries. The group employs more than 3,000 people (including temporary employees). SMA produces a broad range of inverter types which offers suitable inverters for every photovoltaic module type used and for photovoltaic systems in all power ranges. The product portfolio includes inverters both for grid-connected photovoltaic systems and for stand-alone systems. Since June 27, 2008, the company has been listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (S92), and since September 22, 2008, the company's shares have been listed in the TecDAX. In the past recent years, SMA was recognized several times with awards for its outstanding performance as an employer.
Source: SMA Solar Technology
Today, SMA Solar Technology AG inaugurated its new solar inverter factory. With the inverter factory, SMA is extending its production capacities to four gigawatt and is continuously expanding its successful strategy of flexibility. In the opening speech Chief Executive Officer Günther Cramer pointed out that the new facilities were setting a new trend in terms of CO2 neutral fabrication sites.
About 500 guests attended the inauguration ceremony. Silke Lautenschläger, the Hessian Minister for Environment, Energy, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, gave the official speech.
SMA's new inverter factory which has already been producing since March of this year, is setting new standards in every respect: an annual production capacity of up to four gigawatt on 18,000 square meters make it the world's largest solar inverter factory.
The new factory has the lowest possible energy requirements together with the highest efficiency of consumed energy. Among other standards the building thus complies with the low-energy building concept. In addition, a reduced energy consumption of the production and testing facilities is achieved through efficiency measures in the production process. An optimal use of daylight, intelligent ventilation as well as the use of storage units for heating and cooling complement the energy and building concept.
The electricity and heat demand is covered by renewable energy sources: an integrated PV system with a power of around 1.1 megawatt and a combined heat and power plant fueled with bio-gas generates CO2-neutral electricity. "Green electricity" is additionally purchased in order to cover the total energy consumption of the production facilities. In the long run the CO2 balance will be zero by installing additional photovoltaic systems nearby.
The required heat is produced with the biogas-powered combined heat and power plant. At the same time, the waste heat coming from the compressor for the air powered tools and the lifting gear is utilized for the heating system. The additionally required heat demand is covered by using district heating from a nearby waste incineration plant.
Sufficient cooling is provided as well: an absorption refrigeration machine uses the heat of the combined heat and power plant for air conditioning.
In the new factory the process steps in the production have been completely re-designed in terms of efficiency. Entire production lines can be extended or reconfigured for other device types within shortest notice. This provides maximum flexibility in addition to the "just-in-time" production without warehouse.
"The inverters being the heart of every photovoltaic system already significantly contribute to an emission-free energy supply", Günther Cramer, Chief Executive Officer of SMA Solar Technology AG, explains. "With our CO2-neutral inverter production we even go one step further. Today we can show that an advanced production on industrial level can be done with a minimal environmental footprint. As the worldwide leading producer of solar inverters we now intend to initiate a trend towards CO2-neutral factories".
About SMA Solar Technology AG
With a turnover of more than 680 million euros in 2008, SMA is the global market leader for solar inverters, a central component of every solar power system. The SMA group is headquartered in Niestetal, near Kassel, Germany, and is represented on four continents in ten countries. The group employs more than 3,000 people (including temporary employees). SMA produces a broad range of inverter types which offers suitable inverters for every photovoltaic module type used and for photovoltaic systems in all power ranges. The product portfolio includes inverters both for grid-connected photovoltaic systems and for stand-alone systems. Since June 27, 2008, the company has been listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (S92), and since September 22, 2008, the company's shares have been listed in the TecDAX. In the past recent years, SMA was recognized several times with awards for its outstanding performance as an employer.
Source: SMA Solar Technology
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
QuantaSol unveils 28.3% efficient single-junction solar cell World Record
QuantaSol unveils 28.3% efficient single-junction solar cell World record made public at UK’s Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition
Kingston-upon-Thames UK, June 30th 2009:
QuantaSol Ltd, a new independent designer and manufacturer of strain-balanced quantum-well solar cells, has developed what it believes to be the most efficient single junction solar cell ever manufactured. Developed in just two years, QuantaSol's single-junction device has been independently tested by Fraunhofer ISE as achieving 28.3% efficiency at greater than 500 suns.QuantaSol was established in June 2007 as a spin-out of Imperial College London to commercialise the University’s solar cell IP and offer devices to concentrator Photovoltaic (PV) systems developers. Imperial will be featuring a QuantaSol device as part of its presence at the Royal Society Summer Exhibition in London this week.
“Our technology is the industry’s best kept secret. This is the first time that anyone has successfully combined high efficiency with ease of manufacture, historically a bug-bear of the solar cell industry,” said Kevin Arthur, QuantaSol’s CEO. “We’re now gearing up to provide multi-junction cells of even higher efficiencies as early as Q1 2010.”
QuantaSol’s approach combines several nanostructures, of two or more different alloys, in order to obtain synthetic crystals that overcome the problems associated with current solar cell designs. It also greatly enhances the photovoltaic conversion efficiency.
The company, which has a development laboratory in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, completed a £2m second funding round last week. It will now concentrate on cutting the cost of ownership of solar energy by moving to multi-junction devices.
Source: http://www.quantasol.com/
Friday, July 3, 2009
World's Largest Solar Power Station Officially Inaugurated
Bonn, Germany (SPX) Jul 03, 2009
On 1 July 2009 the solar-thermal power station Andasol 1, located in the Spanish province of Granada in Andalusia, was officially inaugurated. At the present time, Andasol 1 is the largest solar power station in the world. Researchers at the German Aerospace Centre were heavily involved in the development of key technologies and identified the most suitable location with the help of various tools, including satellite data.
They did this on behalf of Solar Millennium AG, the project development company. In addition, their measuring methods contributed towards the precision design of the parabolic trough collectors.
Climate-compatible power for 200 000 people
Andasol 1 delivers climate-compatible power for 200 000 people. This makes it possible to cut annual emissions of carbon dioxide by 150 000 tons.
There are more than 600 parabolic trough collectors distributed over a total surface area of about two square kilometres, each of which measures 150 metres in length and 5.7 metres in width. These mirrors have a total surface area in excess of 500 000 square metres.
There is also a heat accumulator located in the centre of this gigantic solar field. Here, two giant tanks, measuring 14 metres in height and 36 metres in diameter, are used to store surplus energy during the midday period using liquid salt.
This salt is heated by solar power to temperatures of up to 390 degrees Celsius and this stored heat enables the power station to operate at full power (50 megawatts) for up 7.5 hours after the Sun has set - a key requirement for the future use of solar power stations.
As well as Andasol 1, the first commercially operated power station of its kind, plans are well underway for a further two solar power station at the same location. In the course of this year, Andasol 2 is scheduled to come on stream, also rated for a capacity of 50 megawatts. Andasol 3, also with a 50 MW rating, is expected to follow in the course of 2011.
DLR researchers tasked with finding the ideal location
On behalf of Solar Millennium AG, the project development company, employees in the Solar Research department of the DLR Institute for Technical Thermodynamics (Institut fur Technische Thermodynamik; ITT) at the Plataforma Solar de Almer�a research station located about 50 kilometres from the Andasol site were tasked with identifying a suitable location for the new solar power station.
One key decision-making indicator took the form of the statistical mean values calculated from many years of sunlight readings taken by the DLR from meteorological measurements at ground stations, and sequential satellite data.
Precision boosts energy yield levels
When setting up this system, it is also possible to use high-speed optical measuring processes developed by the DLR for precision production control of the parabolic collectors. Precise and well-aligned parabolic mirrors are able to boost the energy yield by up to 10%, and this makes a key contribution to the cost-effectiveness of a plant of this kind.
Development of the actual collector technology was aided by the DLR taking a leading role in several projects sponsored by the German Environment Ministry. This meant that the industrial partners were supported during the design and testing of collector prototypes and absorber tubes by DLR employees working at the Spanish test centre of Plataforma Solar de Almer�a, located in Almeria.
The total cost of this power station is somewhere in the region of euros 300 million. A key form of early assistance for the Andasol 1 power station was also forthcoming from the European Union, which contributed euros 5 million of funding aid for the preparation and accompanying scientific research. Power from concentrated solar energy
Andasol 1 is a solar-thermal power station and what is known as a parabolic trough power station. In this configuration, the concentrating mirrors take the form of a very long trough with parabolic cross section. The individual elements of this trough, the collectors, are rotated to track the Sun as it moves from east to west.
Sunlight falling on the collector is reflected onto a focal line, where the light energy is concentrated by a factor of up to 80. Absorber tubes run down this focal line.
These steel tubes, surrounded by an evacuated, insulating glass tube, have a special surface coating which is highly effective at absorbing solar radiation and converting it into heat. In this process, temperatures substantially in excess of 400 degrees Celsius are developed on their surface. An oil known as 'thermo-oil' flows through the centre of each steel absorber tube.
This oil is heated to almost 400 degrees, and the collected heat is then directed to a thermal transfer unit in which steam is generated at high temperature and pressure. As in conventional power stations, this steam is then used to drive a turbine that - linked to a generator - then generates electrical power.
Source: Solar Daily
On 1 July 2009 the solar-thermal power station Andasol 1, located in the Spanish province of Granada in Andalusia, was officially inaugurated. At the present time, Andasol 1 is the largest solar power station in the world. Researchers at the German Aerospace Centre were heavily involved in the development of key technologies and identified the most suitable location with the help of various tools, including satellite data.
They did this on behalf of Solar Millennium AG, the project development company. In addition, their measuring methods contributed towards the precision design of the parabolic trough collectors.
Climate-compatible power for 200 000 people
Andasol 1 delivers climate-compatible power for 200 000 people. This makes it possible to cut annual emissions of carbon dioxide by 150 000 tons.
There are more than 600 parabolic trough collectors distributed over a total surface area of about two square kilometres, each of which measures 150 metres in length and 5.7 metres in width. These mirrors have a total surface area in excess of 500 000 square metres.
There is also a heat accumulator located in the centre of this gigantic solar field. Here, two giant tanks, measuring 14 metres in height and 36 metres in diameter, are used to store surplus energy during the midday period using liquid salt.
This salt is heated by solar power to temperatures of up to 390 degrees Celsius and this stored heat enables the power station to operate at full power (50 megawatts) for up 7.5 hours after the Sun has set - a key requirement for the future use of solar power stations.
As well as Andasol 1, the first commercially operated power station of its kind, plans are well underway for a further two solar power station at the same location. In the course of this year, Andasol 2 is scheduled to come on stream, also rated for a capacity of 50 megawatts. Andasol 3, also with a 50 MW rating, is expected to follow in the course of 2011.
DLR researchers tasked with finding the ideal location
On behalf of Solar Millennium AG, the project development company, employees in the Solar Research department of the DLR Institute for Technical Thermodynamics (Institut fur Technische Thermodynamik; ITT) at the Plataforma Solar de Almer�a research station located about 50 kilometres from the Andasol site were tasked with identifying a suitable location for the new solar power station.
One key decision-making indicator took the form of the statistical mean values calculated from many years of sunlight readings taken by the DLR from meteorological measurements at ground stations, and sequential satellite data.
Precision boosts energy yield levels
When setting up this system, it is also possible to use high-speed optical measuring processes developed by the DLR for precision production control of the parabolic collectors. Precise and well-aligned parabolic mirrors are able to boost the energy yield by up to 10%, and this makes a key contribution to the cost-effectiveness of a plant of this kind.
Development of the actual collector technology was aided by the DLR taking a leading role in several projects sponsored by the German Environment Ministry. This meant that the industrial partners were supported during the design and testing of collector prototypes and absorber tubes by DLR employees working at the Spanish test centre of Plataforma Solar de Almer�a, located in Almeria.
The total cost of this power station is somewhere in the region of euros 300 million. A key form of early assistance for the Andasol 1 power station was also forthcoming from the European Union, which contributed euros 5 million of funding aid for the preparation and accompanying scientific research. Power from concentrated solar energy
Andasol 1 is a solar-thermal power station and what is known as a parabolic trough power station. In this configuration, the concentrating mirrors take the form of a very long trough with parabolic cross section. The individual elements of this trough, the collectors, are rotated to track the Sun as it moves from east to west.
Sunlight falling on the collector is reflected onto a focal line, where the light energy is concentrated by a factor of up to 80. Absorber tubes run down this focal line.
These steel tubes, surrounded by an evacuated, insulating glass tube, have a special surface coating which is highly effective at absorbing solar radiation and converting it into heat. In this process, temperatures substantially in excess of 400 degrees Celsius are developed on their surface. An oil known as 'thermo-oil' flows through the centre of each steel absorber tube.
This oil is heated to almost 400 degrees, and the collected heat is then directed to a thermal transfer unit in which steam is generated at high temperature and pressure. As in conventional power stations, this steam is then used to drive a turbine that - linked to a generator - then generates electrical power.
Source: Solar Daily
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Record-breaking solar cells are tailored to their location
The burning hot sun at the equator is a far cry from the weak sunlight that reaches higher latitudes. To make the most of such different conditions you need specially tailored solar cells, according to UK firm Quantasol.
So the company has come up with a new solar cell design that can be tuned to the light at a particular latitude, and in the process broken a 21-year-old efficiency record for one type of solar cell.
Semiconductor materials such as gallium arsenide (GaAs) are more efficient at converting light to electricity than the cheaper silicon cells most common today. First used in space, GaAs solar cells are beginning to find uses on Earth too.
But the uniform light conditions in space aren't matched on the ground. The atmosphere acts as a filter, so the light reaching Earth varies from place to place and with changing atmospheric conditions.
Tuned in
Quantasol has now created GaAs solar cells that can be tuned to the prevailing light conditions of a particular place, to get the most out of the cells wherever they are.
To do that, the firm added indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) to pores just a few nanometres across on the surface of their cells, called quantum wells. Like the GaAs that makes up the rest of the cell, they can absorb light to produce electric current. But they do so at very specific frequencies.
The pores can be tuned to absorb light at the frequencies that are most common in a particular place but aren't absorbed well by GaAs. Over time this strategy should extract more energy than an off-the-shelf solar cell.
World record
After the quantum wells have been tuned, the GaAs solar cell absorbs more of the incoming light than previous devices. The peak efficiency of the new cell is 28.3 per cent when exposed to light 500 times as strong as normal sunlight, a figure that has been confirmed by the Fraunhofer Institute of Solar Energy in Germany.
That may only be one-tenth of a percentage point higher than the previous world-record holder, but it's the first advance in 21 years.
Commercial silicon solar cells are much cheaper than GaAs, but have an efficiency of just 10 to 12 per cent and are also bulkier. The Quantasol device can cope with much brighter light without becoming overloaded, making it possible to use a very small solar cell to absorb light collected by a system of cheap lenses and mirrors.
But more important than the peak efficiency is that the new cells can generate more electrical energy over the course of days and weeks, says Kevin Arthur, Quantasol CEO.
"The commercial market doesn't just want high efficiency, they want the device to be optimised to the environment," he says. "In the past we measured performance in dollars per watt. Now it's cents per kilowatt-hour that's more important."
Quantasol will showcase its new device at the UK's Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition in London this week.
Source: www.newscientist.com
So the company has come up with a new solar cell design that can be tuned to the light at a particular latitude, and in the process broken a 21-year-old efficiency record for one type of solar cell.
Semiconductor materials such as gallium arsenide (GaAs) are more efficient at converting light to electricity than the cheaper silicon cells most common today. First used in space, GaAs solar cells are beginning to find uses on Earth too.
But the uniform light conditions in space aren't matched on the ground. The atmosphere acts as a filter, so the light reaching Earth varies from place to place and with changing atmospheric conditions.
Tuned in
Quantasol has now created GaAs solar cells that can be tuned to the prevailing light conditions of a particular place, to get the most out of the cells wherever they are.
To do that, the firm added indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) to pores just a few nanometres across on the surface of their cells, called quantum wells. Like the GaAs that makes up the rest of the cell, they can absorb light to produce electric current. But they do so at very specific frequencies.
The pores can be tuned to absorb light at the frequencies that are most common in a particular place but aren't absorbed well by GaAs. Over time this strategy should extract more energy than an off-the-shelf solar cell.
World record
After the quantum wells have been tuned, the GaAs solar cell absorbs more of the incoming light than previous devices. The peak efficiency of the new cell is 28.3 per cent when exposed to light 500 times as strong as normal sunlight, a figure that has been confirmed by the Fraunhofer Institute of Solar Energy in Germany.
That may only be one-tenth of a percentage point higher than the previous world-record holder, but it's the first advance in 21 years.
Commercial silicon solar cells are much cheaper than GaAs, but have an efficiency of just 10 to 12 per cent and are also bulkier. The Quantasol device can cope with much brighter light without becoming overloaded, making it possible to use a very small solar cell to absorb light collected by a system of cheap lenses and mirrors.
But more important than the peak efficiency is that the new cells can generate more electrical energy over the course of days and weeks, says Kevin Arthur, Quantasol CEO.
"The commercial market doesn't just want high efficiency, they want the device to be optimised to the environment," he says. "In the past we measured performance in dollars per watt. Now it's cents per kilowatt-hour that's more important."
Quantasol will showcase its new device at the UK's Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition in London this week.
Source: www.newscientist.com
Swiss team unveil pioneering solar plane
Geneva (AFP) June 26, 2009
Round-the-world balloooning pioneer Bertrand Piccard unveiled his solar-powered aircraft in Switzerland on Friday, ready for another trend-setting circumnavigation of the globe powered solely by the sun.
The wasp-shaped prototype of Solar Impulse, with the wingspan of a jumbo jet, was rolled out before some 800 guests at an airfield near Zurich after six years of development.
Ten years after Piccard and Briton Brian Jones achieved the first non-stop flight around the globe in the Orbiter balloon, the Solar Impulse team are aiming to demonstrate that reliance on renewable energy is not a pipedream.
"If an aircraft is able to fly day and night without fuel, propelled solely by solar energy, let no one come and claim that it is impossible to do the same thing for motor vehicles, heating and air conditioning systems and computers," Piccard said.
Although computer simulations have been tried out, the prototype HB-SIA will make its maiden test flight by the end of this year.
Its mission is to test the feasibility of a complete flight sequence through two days and one night, propelled only by solar energy, and pave the say for a second aircraft's bid to fly around the world in five stages in 2012.
The Swiss adventurer -- who is again joined by Jones -- said the idea emerged after that 19 day hot air balloon trip, when Orbiter was partly kept aloft by fuel canisters even if the wind ensured its progress eastwards.
"That historic success could have turned sour because of the lack of fuel," Piccard said at the Dubendorf airfield.
"That's why we took the decision to to attempt a trip around the world without relying on fossil fuels," he explained.
The seemingly flimsy carbon fibre concentrate of new technology has a 63.4 metre wingspan but weighs little more than a medium sized car.
Some 12,000 solar cells spread over its slender wings are meant to keep it aloft, fuelling four tiny ten horsepower electric motors and 400 kilogrammes of batteries that are, unusually, meant to keep it going overnight.
Wedged in the narrow cockpit, the lone pilot will also be helped to fly Solar Impulse by some novel control technology.
"Those are the wings of hope. They are immense, as is the challenge we have to meet in climate protection," said Swiss Transport, Energy and Environment Minister Moritz Leunberger.
Source: Solar Daily
Round-the-world balloooning pioneer Bertrand Piccard unveiled his solar-powered aircraft in Switzerland on Friday, ready for another trend-setting circumnavigation of the globe powered solely by the sun.
The wasp-shaped prototype of Solar Impulse, with the wingspan of a jumbo jet, was rolled out before some 800 guests at an airfield near Zurich after six years of development.
Ten years after Piccard and Briton Brian Jones achieved the first non-stop flight around the globe in the Orbiter balloon, the Solar Impulse team are aiming to demonstrate that reliance on renewable energy is not a pipedream.
"If an aircraft is able to fly day and night without fuel, propelled solely by solar energy, let no one come and claim that it is impossible to do the same thing for motor vehicles, heating and air conditioning systems and computers," Piccard said.
Although computer simulations have been tried out, the prototype HB-SIA will make its maiden test flight by the end of this year.
Its mission is to test the feasibility of a complete flight sequence through two days and one night, propelled only by solar energy, and pave the say for a second aircraft's bid to fly around the world in five stages in 2012.
The Swiss adventurer -- who is again joined by Jones -- said the idea emerged after that 19 day hot air balloon trip, when Orbiter was partly kept aloft by fuel canisters even if the wind ensured its progress eastwards.
"That historic success could have turned sour because of the lack of fuel," Piccard said at the Dubendorf airfield.
"That's why we took the decision to to attempt a trip around the world without relying on fossil fuels," he explained.
The seemingly flimsy carbon fibre concentrate of new technology has a 63.4 metre wingspan but weighs little more than a medium sized car.
Some 12,000 solar cells spread over its slender wings are meant to keep it aloft, fuelling four tiny ten horsepower electric motors and 400 kilogrammes of batteries that are, unusually, meant to keep it going overnight.
Wedged in the narrow cockpit, the lone pilot will also be helped to fly Solar Impulse by some novel control technology.
"Those are the wings of hope. They are immense, as is the challenge we have to meet in climate protection," said Swiss Transport, Energy and Environment Minister Moritz Leunberger.
Source: Solar Daily
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