A new collaboration between an investment firm and a solar energy company has culminated in a lease financing agreement that will lead to an estimated $500 million (USD) in solar power projects, and about 110 MW in new clean energy generation capacity for both homeowners and businesses.

The new fund, from SolarCity and Goldman Sachs, will enable homeowners with credit ratings of 680 or higher to lease solar power systems for free, providing them with clean energy at a lower price than current utility rates.

Getting into solar energy with no upfront costs could be a huge boon for businesses and homeowners alike, considering that the purchase costs of residential-sized solar installations can be quite high, as compared to continuing to just paying current utility rates every month.

“The Goldman lease financing will make affordable solar electricity available to more types of homeowners and organizations. We expect to be able to expand our offering to a broader customer base by lowering the credit requirements even further in future financings.” – Jimmy Chuang, SolarCity’s vice president of structured finance

In addition to generating more clean energy, the fund may also help local economies by providing jobs and lowering operating costs for both homes and commercial buildings. According to SolarCity, the lease financing agreement is the largest of its kind in the US, and has already been responsible for 26 MW of new solar capacity. Financing for an additional 158 MW of solar generation is available through the program, and could make it easier to fund solar projects for schools and municipalities, which are not publicly rated.

Find out more at SolarCity.

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With steep increases in the price of electricity a reality,  and ongoing concern about carbon emissions many homeowners around the globe have started to think about using solar power to keep their household costs down.

People living in stand alone houses are able to use rooftop solar panels to generate their own power but what about people living in apartments?

One solution may be to install “smart” windows. These are in development and integrate solar panel technology into window glass allowing you to power your house.

UCLA’s Material Science and Engineering Department has come up with a solar cell made of polymer. These cells can produce power by harnessing the Infrared (IR) light. The window glass is made of transparent conductors which harvests the IR rays making the glass 75% transparent. The glass absorbs IR rays which are not visible to the naked eye but allows visible light to pass, the energy efficiency is five percent greater than regular solar cells.

Oxford Photovoltaic Group affiliated under Oxford University have designed a window which uses organic solar cells. These cells are directly printed on the windows making it a power producing window. The principle used here isthe  same as photosynthesis. An electron from a special dye is released when the sun’s rays falls on the window. This coated layer will last for 20 years.

Designed by Maryland based firm, New Energy Technologies, this innovative window uses photosensitive film to generate power. You need to spray the material on the window glass to accomplish this task. The best part of this technology is that it uses both the sun’s rays as well as ordinary light to generate power. If the coating fades you can respray it. These windows are said to produce more power than rooftop panels.

Peer+ have come up with an interesting and really smart window which changes its opacity to filter the sun’s ray and keep your room at a temperature your prefer, this saves costs and energy used for heating or coolling . Energy can also be produced from blocked sunlight in this technology.

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For music lovers, romantics, and throwers of spontaneous off-grid dance parties, this gadget’s for you. When you want to share your tunes, but the little speakers in your smartphone or iPod just won’t do it justice, it’s time to break out the speaker.

Pair up your Bluetooth-enabled smartphone with this rugged portable speaker, put your dancing shoes on, and leave the power to the sun.

This little solar-powered speaker, measuring just 6 1/2″ x 6″ x 1″, can not only play tunes for up to eight hours on a single charge (5 hours), but can also charge up your mobile gadgets at the same time. It’s built into a water- and shock-resistant case, making it the perfect choice for beach parties way out beyond the reach of extension cords.

The portable solar-powered speaker is available at Hammacher Schlemmer for about $100 (USD).

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This is new. A solar-powered plug from Korea  that sticks to your window and absorbs sunlight for use later. Brilliant.

Unfortunately, it’s only available to European markets due to the style of the plug, but a version for the U.S. is on its way.

The Window Socket is the brainchild of Korean designers Kyuho Song and Boa Oh. It’s not too powerful–yet–but it can definitely get you through the day.

Just like all other solar devices, the Window Socket absorbs sunlight and converts it into electricity you can use to power small electronics, charge your phone/tablet, plug in a reading light, etc. It’s also great for driving commutes, or an overnight trip.

Some suggested tweaks and modifications include eventual USB support, a bigger battery life, and universal compatibility. Currently, it takes in between five and eight hours to fully charge the device, then it will produce power for around 10 hours. That’s not bad at all, because who really stays up 10 hours past dark to take full advantage of the Window Socket?

The creators of the Window Socket explained:

This product is intended to enabled you to use electricity freely and conveniently in a space restricted in the use of electricity, such as in a plane, a car, and outdoors. Thus, this product was meant to draw out a socket used indoors outward. We tried to design a portable socket, so that users can use it intuitively without special training.

It doesn’t get much simpler than that. You don’t even have to remove the Window Socket to plug into it. It’s small enough to fit in your pocket, backpack, or laptop bag, and light enough to not become a burden. When it debuted on Yanko Design, it received over 300 comments, and spread like wildfire across the internet.

We’re expecting great things in Window Socket’s future.

Since this is just the first prototype, and it’s already pretty incredible, future iterations should perform even more exemplary as a portable charging device for the power user.

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Metallurgists at the University of Utah have fabricated a nanocrystal semiconductor using a common household microwave oven and abundant and cheap metals, which could lead to advances in PV solar cells, LED lighting, and heat-to-electricity applications.

The researchers were able to construct CZTS photovoltaic semiconductors using less expensive and more abundant metals than those traditionally used for semiconductors (currently gallium and indium), and the materials involved are considered “less toxic” than the arsenic and cadmium presently used.

CZTS (copper, zinc, tin, sulfur) cells were first explored in 1967, but the methods found for producing them were complex and lengthy, taking as long as five hours to create a thin film of the stuff, which serves as a photovoltaic material.

But it turns out that using microwaves “is a fast way to make these particles that have a broad range of applications”, and the process they developed could, with refinements, eventually be applied to commercial manufacturing. To produce the CZTS, researchers heated a solution of dissolved salts in the microwave, which creates nanocrystals that can be “painted” on a surface for solar cell applications.

“In the study, they determined the optimum time required to produce the most uniform crystals of the CZTS semiconductor – 18 minutes in the microwave oven – and confirmed the material indeed was CZTS by using a variety of tests, such as X-ray crystallography, electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and ultraviolet spectroscopy. They also built a small photovoltaic solar cell to confirm that the material works and demonstrate that smaller nanocrystals display “quantum confinement,” a property that makes them versatile for different uses.” – University of Utah

The CZTS semiconductor, described as “easy-to-make”, could be integrated into multilayer solar cells, boosting the efficiency of PV modules, and could also be used in waste-heat-to-electricity conversion applications, manufacturing of electronics components, and the production of biosensors.

Michael Free, professor of metallurgical engineering, and Prashant Sarswat, research associate, will see their study of the microwaved CZTS semiconductor published in the June issue of the Journal of Crystal Growth.

While the microwave used in the study was just a common household one, the team also cautioned that this wasn’t something you should try in your kitchen: “Don’t do it at home. You have to be cautious when using these kinds of materials in a microwave.”

Solar energy continues to evolve, in particular, finding ways of installing solar panels in densely populated areas.

Many states and cities within the USA are so densely populated that the space simply isn’t there to roll out vast, traditional solar paneling systems.

The dynamic is beginning to change from roof-top panels to linking areas to a solar farm.

Brown field sites that are not attracting building use are now being taken over by the solar energy industry.

In the state of New Jersey, over 6 acres of solar paneling worth 4 million dollars is being installed. These brown field sites are often contaminated land from previous industrial use, and not suited to human living conditions – but using the land for solar paneling is a safe and sensible way of re-using land.

The Environmental Protection Agency reckons that around 400,000 brown field sites lie dormant across America. These formerly commercial or heavy industrial wastelands are often full of gas extracts and metal residues. Cleaning these areas to a standard of human use is proving both a lengthy and costly investment. Around 10,000 brown field sites across the US, according to the EPA, are suitable areas for development of renewable energy facilities.

Brown field sites are clearly a lucrative opportunity for environmental technology. The land is located very near to those who need it and furthermore, since these sites formerly hosted traditional electric facilities, there are often decent power lines already in existence.

Solar farms of this kind are, however, expensive.

Tax payers’ unions in America have raised concerns over how much this type of energy generation will affect household bills. We will most likely see a situation whereby these systems are used on conjunction with other ways of generating electricity.

It’s a smart way of using uninhabitable land for the benefit of the local community.

The decline of heavy industry has seen no shortage of brown field sites show up on the map. It’s innovative thinking such as this that will move forward the green agenda in urban areas.

Image: megawattsolar.com

A wonderful new accomplishment in the field of aeronautics was accomplished the other day.

The first ever of its kind, the solar-powered airplane completed part of its journey from California to New York; landing in Phoenix, Arizona after an 18-hour flight.

Solar-powered airplanes have long been a hobby of aeronautic enthusiasts, and a long term goal of plane manufacturers, but getting the engine to the sort of efficiency needed to fly during both daytime and nighttime conditions hasn’t been invented yet.

Hopefully, this new development will spur a new wave of research and testing to create the world’s first solar-powered commercial airplane.

Pilot Bertrand Piccard flew the impulse plane an average of 10,000 feet, and an airspeed of roughly 40mph. As far as flight goes, this is an extremely slow test, but a giant first step in the right direction.

For the next part of the journey, Solar Impulse CEO Andre Borschberg will be in charge as the duo complete the 4-part experimental flight.

This flight will break a slew of records, and set the standards pretty high for the next group of adventurers to continue paving the way for solar-powered airplanes to become a regular thing. For many observing the journey, this feels a lot like it might have when Orville and Wright flew their first plane.

The duo sent an email statement to reporters, which said,

“We have been dreaming about crossing the United States for years — the land of scientific research, innovation, and aviation pioneers — and it’s hard to believe it’s really happening.”

Both pilots will continue alternating turns at the controls, giving one another mental and physical rest from the endeavor. Millions of people are watching this event, which puts a tremendous amount of stress on the two pilots, though they’ve both been in high spirits since their launch.

The field of solar aeronautics is definitely something to keep an eye out for in the next decade or so.

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Construction has started on what’s being billed as the world’s largest solar power development, the 579 MW Antelope Valley Solar Projects, located in California.

The development, from MidAmerican Solar and SunPower Corp., is actually two projects, in both Kern and Los Angeles counties, and is expected to take about three years to complete.

During construction, the projects will employ about 650 people and be responsible for about $500 million (USD) worth of economic impact in the region.

The site covers over 3200 acres, and will feature SunPower’s Oasis Power Plant technology, a modular system that is designed for rapid installation and a minimal footprint.

The system uses SunPower’s T0 Trackers to optimize the orientation of the photovoltaic panels throughout the day to maintain the best power profile, is said to be able to boost the potential energy harvest by 25%.

“The start of construction on the Antelope Valley Solar Projects underscores that solar is a reliable, cost-competitive energy source.” – Howard Wenger, SunPower

According to SunPower Corp., the amount of electricity that will be produced at the Antelope Valley Solar Projects will offset an approximately 775,000 metric tons of CO2 each year (compared to conventional power plant production), which will have the same effect as taking about 3 million cars off of the roads over the next two decades.

Once the plants are online and up to full capacity, they will be capable of producing 579 MW of clean energy, which is the equivalent of powering about 400,000 homes. The projects are expected to be completed by the end of the year in 2015, and Southern California Edison has two long-term power purchase contracts with the Antelope Valley Solar Projects to buy the generated solar energy.

Silicon, the second most abundant element in the earth’s crust, and eighth most abundant in the entire universe, may have just taken a backseat to a lesser known element: Graphene.

One of silicon’s best uses is in solar cells, though that may all change soon.

According to MIT, Graphene has the potential of providing 60 percent more energy efficiency than silicon.

So far, there aren’t any devices capable of using graphene to harvest energy, however, in the near future when companies begin testing and developing such machines, we may very well have a revolution in solar energy on our hands.

Frank Koppens of the Institute of Photonic Sciences in Spain envisions a bright future for Graphene.

He imagines it’ll be very useful in cameras, light sensors, medical equipment, etc. Future implications will depend on scientist’s understanding of how graphene absorbs sunlight, though it is speculated that we might see graphene hit the mainstream market in the next decade or so.

Nanotechnology Professor Andrea Ferrari of the University of Cambridge in the U.K. says the “material can work with any wavelength you can think of.” He continued, “There is no other material in the world with this behavior.” With the new research into possible uses, “a third layer of interest is added to graphene for optics.”

It’s a promising future for our world when new efficiencies for energy harvesting are discovered.

If graphene proves to be as potent as scientists are currently predicting, then the entire solar industry might very well be turned on its head. This game-changing element could be the answer to a great many prayers.

Since graphene is cheap, light, sturdy, and flexible, the average person will be able to afford purchasing it for everyday use, such as personal solar converters, light sensors, etc. We’ll be following this story with great interest as more is discovered.

If powering up was as simple as sticking a solar cell on the surface of a window or mobile gadget, users would not only gain an easy and cheap way to charge their devices, but could also reduce the demand for fossil fuels for charging electronics.

Thanks to a working partnership between Stanford University and the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the development of thin-film peel-and-stick solar cells is in the works, so we may see future devices powered by these types of cells.

Peel-and-stick, or water-assisted transfer printing (WTP) was developed at Stanford, and has been used in nanowire-based electronics, but new research has resulted in a successful demonstration of using the process for thin-film solar cells.

The researchers have shown that thin-film solar cells (less than one micron thick) can be removed from their silicon substrate, dipped into room temperature water, briefly exposed to heat (90°C), and then applied to just about any surface.

“NREL’s amorphous silicon cells were fabricated on nickel-coated Si/SiO2 wafers. A thermal release tape attached to the top of the solar cell serves as a temporary transfer holder. An optional transparent protection layer is spin-casted in between the thermal tape and the solar cell to prevent contamination when the device is dipped in water. The result is a thin strip much like a bumper sticker: the user can peel off the handler and apply the solar cell directly to a surface.” – NREL

Most thin-film solar cells must adhere to a special substrate, but according to the researchers, the new method being developed uses flexible polymer substrates, which are lightweight and transparent and could enable the cells to be affixed to curved surfaces

The study, “Peel and Stick: Fabricating Thin Film Solar Cells on Universal Substrates,” is published online at Scientific Reports.