Decreasing cost of PV solar panels change the use of CSP in Blythe Project

The Blythe Solar Power Project in Riverside County, California which it's a 1,000 MW will be generated by solar thermal power station using concentrated solar power (CSP), is now about a half (500MW) will be replaced with photovoltaic(PV) system which will lower cost. The action carried out in line with the decreasing price of solar panels which considered cheaper than using the trough of CSP installation.

The concentrating solar power in the form of parabolic trough design at the beginning project plan will be used to heat up the water to create steam which will be used to spin turbine for generating electricity. Solar Millennium as the project implementer company has forfeited a $2.1 billion loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy for construction of phase one of the project to make the switch to PV. The project will now be funded through commercial markets, without the federal support.

The installation using CSP is estimated to cost about $5.79 per watt, meanwhile photovoltaics system would cost about $3.40 per watt. In addition to be cheaper,the PV installation also will eliminate the environment problem of endangered tortoises habitat when using CSP system. The replacement of solar technology using photovoltaic cells might be applied in the overall Blythe project which it's remaining 500 MW still unclear whether it will be replaced with PV too or not.

Although not yet determined the type of solar panels that will be used, but the use of PV system will cost-effective and less maintenance than the CSP system which require more water to operate. The project on an area of 7,025 acres is expected to supply electricity to hundreds of thousands of homes by 2013.

Ford's solar panel to cut extra cost of charging electric cars

The green program called "Drive Green for Life" is an effort of Ford motor in cooperation with renowned solar panel manufacturer, SunPower, to provide solar panel roof system that is intended to provide power for charging Ford's electric car, so the car became really use green energy source.

The rooftop solar panel system will be sold in conjunction with the upcoming Ford Focus Electric Vehicle, which will also involve the installation of solar panels at the customer's home. According to the company, the 2.5 kilowatt solar panel system could compensate for cost of about 1,000 miles per month. The solar panel system cost would be around $10,000, after federal tax credits.

The 147 square feet rooftop solar panel system will consist of 11 solar panels, measuring 4 feet by 2 feet. The company also provide facility to monitor the performance of panel's system using online iPhone app which designed specifically. The system will has a twenty five-year warranty from SunPower and it's will be installed by Best Buy’s Geek Squad.

The green program would be a good choice for those who want to use electric cars but are not burdened by the extra cost of charging them. The real green electric car is when it's charging using green renewable energy non-fossil fuels. The new 2012 Ford Focus is planning to go on sale first in California and New York in 2011.

Solar cost in Australia is likely to become cheaper than fossil fuels

According to the new data,the New South Wales(NSW) as one of most populous state in Australia, shows the trend of the cost of electricity from solar energy is more equivalent to the price of electricity from coal, so there is the possibility it can go to the grid parity. If this happens, then the possibility of solar cost, including the initial setup of rooftop solar panels would be cheaper than electricity from fossil fuels.

Subsidies are the factors in achieving grid parity to remote areas in NSW, which has made the cost of households feeding power to the electricity grid passed 28 ¢ a kilowatt hour. This amount was comparable to the price to buy coal-fired power possessed by a utilities company.

The peak of the NSW bonus scheme has caused losses to the industry, i'ts has reduce up to 93 percent in rooftop panel installations. A commercial solar panel manufacturer in Sydney,SilexSolar would outsourced the solar cells production to the China. The company could no longer afford to compete with cheaper, imported solar cells.

According to Andrew Blakers, the director of the center for sustainable energy systems from Australian National University, the grid parity has been achieved in many places, except Melbourne and Hobart. About thousands of households are still waiting to be installed their solar panels under the $1.9 billion solar bonus scheme.

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Solar power attached to Australian army clothes

Using a very thin solar cells may be as thick as a hair, the Australian army uniforms can generate electricity for their electronic devices during the mission. In addition to abundant, solar power is a renewable energy source that has become the everyday friend for all troops on the battlefield.


The wearable thin lightweight solar cell technology was developed by the Australian National University in collaboration with the Australian defense department. The contract worth of 2.3 million from the defense department is devoted to the revolution and modernization programs of Australian Defense Force soldier , such as improving infantry soldiers close combat tactical awareness and survivability by utilize solar-powered military electronic devices.


The technology was commercialized by Transform as wearable solar panel basis. The solar cell named SLIVER cell has able to make an efficient module,portable, and lightweight to convert solar energy into electricity under a wide range of environmental conditions. It's also made bi-facial to allow for harvesting solar energy from the two sides.


Wearable solar power for military is expected to provide power in the field during the mission and can replace the need of battery as well as take advantage from sustainable power supply of solar energy.

A residential solar installation in southern California capable to produce 150 kW

A new record for a home solar installation in the U.S. which capable to produce up to 150 kilowatts electricity achieved by homes and businesses solar panel manufacturer, SolarWorld. The company has installed it's monocrystalline SunModule panels on a mountain slope to provide power to a house nearby.

An obstacle in generating a large electric production for residential solar installations is a limited space for solar panel installation. An anonymous home owners in Southern California has managed to utilize the unused land on the slopes of a hill below his house for a large solar panel installation. The company has installed it's SunKit solar systems which consist of about 600 solar panel modules with 250 watts of each capacity.


Installation is also very concerned about the existence of objects that already exist underneath by providing a gap. Currently, home solar panel installation only able to produce about 5 kW or less of electricity, making it less able to meet the daily electricity needs of the home. If you have land that is abandoned even in the oblique, you can use it for installation of solar panels to power your home to get more power produced.

BrightSource offers green efficient solar thermal power plant

After the constraints of it's first large solar plant project in California, BrightSource Energy has offered the new ways for the second giant solar thermal plant project to get out of problems such as the amount of water used and the impact on desert tortoise as well as to get more power produced.


To get more efficient and more environmentally friendly, the company has change some it's project designs to Hidden Hills Solar Electric Generating System in Inyo County, California, which planned to generate about 540 Megawatts divided into two solar fields of 270 Megawatts of each. The tower of the power plant will be made higher to 750 feet to provide more places for heliostats closer together so it can reduces the shades of mirrors as well as save land use.


The project will use about 85,000 heliostats around the towers built at Hidden Hills which will concentrate the sunlight to focused on water-filled boiler to produce steam to turn electricity turbine. The project will also use 5.12 square miles privately owned Mojave Desert land,which is another of the first project that has used public land.


The project offered by BrightSource Energy is planned to be online by the end of 2015 and able to power about 178,000 homes. A about 500 Megawatts of power produced will be sold to utility Pacific Gas and Electricto. It also expected to reduce about 500,000 tons CO2 emission annually. The company also planned to work together with molten salt storage to extend their operating hours past sunset. BrightSource Energy has submitted it's proposals to the California Energy Commission.

DuPont will take over the manufacture of silicon ink solar cells from Innovalight

DuPont as the big chemical company in U.S. will serious in developing its photovoltaic products which will be combination with Innovalight's silicon ink technology to improve its solar cell efficiency. The largest photovoltaic materials supplier has bought Innovalight as the start up of selective emitter technology which allow in capturing wider spectrum light.


DuPont has supplied solar cell materials to the majority of solar panel manufacturers intend to expand it's production of silicon cells which have been given black ink nanomaterial during the manufacturing process. Technology using this silicon ink material is believed to has raised the efficiency of monocrystalline solar cells up to 19 percent.


Before the acquisition, actually the co-operation has been carried out by both companies because it is considered mutually beneficial and need each other. DuPont also has sold it's solar cell materials such as silver metallization pastes for solar industry manufacturers. Other products produced by DuPont as encapsulants, resins, and weather resistant backsheets.


Although at this time, the Innovalight's silicon ink technology has been proven to improve the performance of monocrystalline solar cells, but DuPont intends to apply it to another silicon cell. The acquisition is also considered good for both companies to enhance their operations optimally.

New record 17.3 percent of CdTe solar cell achieved by First Solar

The new achievement of efficiency record of thin film which use cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cell has been noted by the U.S. NREL with the latest efficiency of 17.3 percent by a company based in Arizona, First Solar. The company of second-largest manufacturer of Photovoltaic modules has surpassed the previous record of 16.7 percent efficiency of CdTe solar cell.

As a cheaper of production cost as much as 30 percent than CIGS solar cell,CdTe thin film technology is a solar panel semiconductor which used in film vapor deposition process and its specific chemical-combination considered as most cost effective. But besides a low price, CdTe has a disadvantages in efficiency when compared with the modules from crystalline silicon.

In fact, the lab efficiencies will not be the same after the process to make a solar module. Efforts to improve the efficiency of thin-film solar cells can be done by increasing the surface area of solar cell although the result is less efficient for installation in narrow spaces.

The first green wise step is also performed by First Solar to provide recycling programs as well as prefunded solar module collection. Solar modules which discarded by the consumer will be recycled up to 90 percent for their new products. Customers do not need to pay a bit for collection at any time.