PRODUCT NEWS

Efficiency Boost Makes Solar Cells More Affordable

Solar energy could become more affordable following a breakthrough by UNSW scientists, who have boosted the efficiency of solar cell technology. The advance could see the price of an installed solar system for an average house fall from around $20,000 to $15,000. Up to 45 percent of the cost of solar cell technology is due to the high cost of the silicon used to convert sunlight to electricity.

Silicon is the material of choice in the electronics industry because of its stability, non-toxicity and ubiquity. However, silicon is a poor absorber of light. In a bid to drive down costs, scientists have moved from using expensive thick silicon “wafers” to cheaper “thin film” cells, containing less silicon.

The disadvantage of these one-to-two micron-thick films is that they convert only eight to 10 percent of incoming sunlight into electricity, compared to the 25 percent efficiency of thicker, more expensive, silicon wafers. Scientists around the world are testing new ways to boost the efficiency of thin film technology, while keeping down costs.

Now, researchers at UNSW’s ARC Photovoltaics Centre of Excellence, led by PhD student Supriya Pillai have reported a 16-fold enhancement in light absorption in 1.25-micron thin-film cells for light with a wavelength of 1050 nm. They have also reported a seven-fold enhancement in light absorption in the more expensive wafer type cells light wavelengths of 1200 nm.

"Most thin-film solar cells are between eight and 10 percent efficient," says Dr Kylie Catchpole, a co-author of the study, "but the new technique could increase efficiency to between 13 and 15 percent."

That's an important advance, she says: "If they're below 10 percent efficient, then you can't really afford to install them, because it would take up too much of your roof area, for example, to power your house." Once the technology approaches 15 per cent efficiency, it becomes commercially viable.

An average house could have its daily power supplied by installing a solar system and panels covering 10 square metres. This system would exclude power for cooking and hot water heating.

The breakthrough, which is reported in the upcoming issue of the Journal of Applied Physics, could eventually see a dramatic rise in solar power’s share of the electricity market. Currently only 30,000 Australian households - out of 8 million - have installed solar panels.

The UNSW researchers have devised a way to deposit a thin film of silver (about 10 nanometres thick) onto a solar cell surface and then heat it to 200° Celsius. This breaks the film into tiny 100-nanometre “islands” of silver that boost the cell’s light trapping ability, thereby boosting its efficiency.

High-frequency currents induced on the shafts of wind turbine generators can reach levels of 60 amps and 1,200 volts or greater.  If not diverted, these currents will discharge through the generator’s bearings, causing severe electrical damage that results in bearing failure and catastrophic turbine failure, sometimes in as little as six months or less. The AEGIS WTG’s patented conductive microfiber technology effectively steers these currents away from the bearings and safely to ground.
The WTG is engineered to safely divert up to 120 amps of continuous shaft current at frequencies as high as 13.5 MHz and discharge up to 3,000 volts (peak).  Suited for use as part of a preventive maintenance program to protect against premature bearing failures, it can be installed whenever bearings are replaced.

The dye red biodiesel is used off-road by construction companies, ranchers, farmers and standby generators, marine and drilling industries because of its non-taxable incentive provided by the US government. The cost of dye red biodiesel is comparable to diesel and current pricing can be found through OPIS or DTN.  

Scott Hughes, Director of Governmental Affairs for the National Biodiesel Board, “Dye red presents a wonderful non-taxable option for farmers, ranchers, off-road equipment haulers to better manage their logistics costs. The tax incentives will continue to help develop the biodiesel industry and preserve our natural resources. Gulf Hydrocarbon is truly a pioneer in the industry by providing this product at the pump in their terminals.”

NFU Backs Farm-to-Fuel Investment Act

National Farmers Union is supporting the Farm-to-Fuel Investment Act, introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.. The legislation would provide transition assistance for producers to grow energy-dedicated crops.

"Developing commercial production of cellulosic ethanol offers a bright future for rural America. This bill will create economic opportunities for farmers, ranchers and their rural communities while moving our nation toward energy independence," NFU President Tom Buis said.

Specifically, the bill would provide three years of transition assistance to farmers who produce dedicated energy crops, such as switchgrass, within 50 miles of an existing or proposed biorefinery. Areas with a biorefinery owned primarily by rural residents would receive priority. Farmers would agree to practice conservation practices for soil and water quality, and wildlife habitat.

The PSNH boiler, capable of producing power for about 50-thousand typical homes, is expected to consume more than 450-thousand tons of clean wood chips annually, significantly reduce emissions at the Seacoast power plant, and contribute about $20 million a year to the regional economy.

“In completing this project, PSNH has demonstrated its ability to build and operate the state’s largest and cleanest biomass power plant,” said Chuck Shivery, president and CEO of Northeast Utilities, PSNH’s parent corporation. “It achieved this accomplishment on time, under budget, and in a way that has kept electric rates low and stable for its customers.”

Northern Wood Power began official operations last December and has, since that time, received clean wood chips from licensed loggers and certified suppliers in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts.

“The United States and Canada have vast wind energy resources and Invenergy continues to demonstrate strong industry leadership and innovation in the development of that potential,” said Abate. “We are pleased to work with Invenergy in this growing and dynamic industry, supporting their efforts with our latest technology while we also continue to invest in new technology that will further increase the reliability and efficiency of wind power production.”

 “Over the past three years, Invenergy has developed and constructed more than 680 megawatts of wind energy facilities,” said Michael Polsky, CEO of Invenergy. “We are excited about the future of wind energy in the United States and Canada, and are pleased to utilize GE technology to further increase the supply of clean, wind-generated electricity.”

A group of MIT students are using a new technology in a low-cost, environmentally friendly way to regrow the Philippine coral reefs- recently ranked one of the worst coral "hot spots" in the world by Science magazine. Their project, First-Step Coral, aims to restore the habitat of one of the highest concentrations of biodiversity in the world, using solar and wind power.

The students teamed up with MIT alumnus Thomas J. Goreau, founder of the Cambridge, Mass.-based Global Coral Reef Alliance (GCRA). Goreau created a technology, called BioRock, which uses an electro-chemical process to deposit calcium carbonate onto the common building material, rebar. After the calcium is deposited on the black metal, it turns white, and clumps of living coral that the volunteers tie to the metal begin to grow and attach themselves to the framework. In trials in the Pacific islands, the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean, corals attached to Biorock grow three to five times faster than native coral and have an increased survival rate.

The MIT students' innovation on the technology is to power the electro-chemical process with wind turbines, tidal power and solar panels. During a trip to the Philippines in January, the First-Step Coral team installed 500-watt solar panels donated by Shell and Sunpower to power Biorock in the Carbin and Molocaboc islands in the Sagay Marine Reserve. The team plans to study the effect of the cyclical nature of the renewable sources on the growth and development of the coral.

The coral reefs help provide more than 60 percent of the animal protein consumed by the Philippines' population of 80 million. The declining fishing industry then puts more pressures on the land, which must support more agriculture as people move inland in search of a new food supply.

One of the students in the project, Gerardo Jose la O', left his hometown of Bacolod City in the Philippines almost 10 years  ago to attend Berkeley and then graduate school at MIT.  Even before he left for college, la O' had noticed something about the coral reefs that disturbed him: they were getting harder to find. You had to swim farther out, braving strong currents, to find the reefs and their 1,000-plus species of spectacularly colored fish.

"I've seen the natural ecosystem get worse and worse. It's overused, overexploited," la O' said. "The fishermen throw sticks of dynamite into the water and the sonic waves cause the fish to die and make them easier to catch. It also shatters the coral and causes it to slowly die off. It's akin to carving a hole in the center of the Amazon and denuding it, but the coral reefs are less visible because they're underwater."

With fellowships from MIT's Graduate Student Council and the MIT Public Service Center, la O' and MIT students Emzo de los Santos, a sophomore studying biological engineering, Martin M. Lorilla, a Sloan management student, and former MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning Fellow Iliac Diaz launched First-Step Coral. The students coupled their science and engineering skills with a new technology to promote a low-cost, environmentally friendly way to regrow the Philippine coral reefs.

First-Step Coral recently won a $7,500 award in the MIT IDEAS competition and is one of eight semifinalists in the 2007 MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition "development track" for advancing low-income communities in developing countries. Winners will be announced May 16 at an awards ceremony at 7 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium.

Onsite Power 2007 Call for Papers Closes June 1st

The final call for papers deadline of June 1st is fast approaching. This is your last chance to join other industry leaders speaking at the Onsite Power 2007 Conference, November 6-7, 2007 in Scottsdale, Az.

Subject areas to include, but not limited to:
- Back-up and Stand-by Power Solutions
- Gen-sets, Fuel Cell and Other Onsite Power Solutions
- Renewable Energy as a Remote Power Source
- Solar System Sizing
- Proper Weatherization of Oniste Solar Power Solutions
- LED Lighting & Energy Aspects
- Power Reliability for 24/7 operation
- Dual Redundancy of Power for Critical Operations
- Low Power Systems for Monitoring and Communications

The Onsite Power 2007 Preliminary Program has also been announced. See more HERE