A project to gather current information on Solar Power Generation

Solar power is attractive because it is plentiful but there are many problems to be overcome before it can power the world. This project is dedicated to reporting progress but

Conservation and efficiency is the answer, at least until an affordable
photovoltaic cell is developed. If Arizona was covered with 10% efficient solar
panels, it could provide the 100 quadrillion BTUs that the USA uses every year.

Bob Maginnis October 2005

The race is not over however! See Pyron Solar Power and a new World Record of 40% efficiency has been established in USA also ENECO Solar who claim 38%. Possibly the cheapness of Nanosolar printed foils may outway the efficiency of other products.

Systems in which the sun heats water to generate electricity are developing fast by the Spanish company Acciona Energy and they now plan a 200 MW plant in Nevada which will pay for itself in 10 years.

One of the major problems is that heavy night demand does not co-incide with day time supply (see Electricity Stored ). This is overcome in George Monbiot's thinking of a direct current supergrid which covers several time zones and blends wind power and solar with some storage capacity.

Group members
Malcolm Crocker

Sources

  1. Concentrating Solar, the comparison with nuclear 19/08/08
  2. Solar Energy Update Spring 08 26/03/08
  3. 110 mw Solar for Florida 27/06/08
  4. Nanosolar hits the Streets Guardian 29/12/07
  5. PV Windows from MIT 21/07/08
  6. Big Business Solar Investment increases 21/06/08
  7. Nanosolar - Green Power without paying more 23/04/08
  8. CIGS progress 2008 REUTERS 03/04/08
  9. IBM in the Solar race developing CIGS 17/06/08
  10. Big US Solar Plans by Spanish Company 12/11/07
  11. Google Renewables 03/12/07
  12. MIT Electric Storage for homes 01/08/08
  13. California adds more Solar 07/04/08
  14. Race for Best Solar 14/06/07
  15. Solar Paint on Steel Cladding development promising 10/03/08
  16. Nanosolar Cheap Power 17/11/07
  17. Google to boost green technologies 09/02/08
  18. Nanosolar Ships First Panels 16/12/07
  19. Solar Footprint not zero 09/02/08
  20. Dye Sensitised Principle
  21. Florida Solar Rooftop Plans 16/07/07
  22. First Solar PV Factories 02/10/07
  23. Inexpensive Solar on the Way 21/07/07
  24. Financing Solar
  25. Solar Becoming Cost Effective
  26. 800MW Solar Cell Production in California 10/08/06
  27. ENECO Solar
  28. Pyron Solar Power
  29. Dyesol Claims Zero Carbon Living with Glass 10/04/08
  30. Electricity Stored
  31. Tesco Solar Roof
  32. Solar Dish Power
  33. Quantum Dot Solar
  34. World Record for Solar Efficiency
  35. Spanish Solar Leadership


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