New NanoMarkets Report Predicts $7.2 Billion Thin-Film Photovoltaics Market by 2015
The world thin-film photovoltaics (TFPV) market is forecast to reach $7.2 billion by 2015, compared to just over $1 billion today, according to a new report from NanoMarkets LC, an industry analyst firm.
The market is being driven by the inherent advantages of TFPV including low cost, low weight and the ability to manufacture them on flexible substrates and embed solar power capabilities into walls, roofs and even windows. Unlike more conventional PV that uses crystalline silicon, TFPV also has the ability to operate under low light conditions. The report notes that to support the growing demand for TFPV, most manufacturers are ramping up production capacity and several - including First Solar, Fuji Electric, Nanosolar, Sanyo, Uni-Solar and G24i - are building plants with more than 100 MW in capacity.
Because worldwide energy prices are rising fast and PV prices are falling fast, PV could carve off a big slice of the energy market and could eventually account for as much as 20 percent of the US market's energy needs. Because TFPV costs less than conventional PV, TFPV is well positioned take off first. Just a few years ago, TFPV was only five percent of the entire PV market, but it is expected to account for 35 percent of the photovoltaics market by 2015. PV also offers predictable pricing, something that fossil fuels cannot do.
TFPV can be manufactured using simple printing or other R2R machines; the value of printed TFPV is expected to reach just over $3 billion by 2015. Printing PV has the potential for lowering capital costs by as much as 75 percent, reducing waste and increasing throughput.
TFPV is also much lighter than conventional PV and can be easily applied to curved and non-planar surfaces, making it easy to install on roofs and walls. Where a lot of panels need to be installed on a roof, using TF PV reduces the likelihood that the roof will have to be specially reinforced. TFPV is also enabling windows that double as PV panels, making PV much more practical for buildings large and small.
PV based on organic materials offers hope for the future. They are more ecologically friendly than other PV approaches. Efficiencies of organic PV are also improving rapidly and new cell architectures promise that the performance of organic PV devices could come close to or possibly even exceed those of their purely inorganic counterparts. By 2015 NanoMarkets expects shipments of organic PV to reach 500 MW.
AeroVironment's New AVX Series Wind Turbine Wins 2 Prestigious International Design Awards
AeroVironment, Inc.’s (AV) new AVX wind turbine has won two prestigious honors: the Red Dot International Design award and the 2007 Annual Design Review award from I.D., The International Design Magazine.
The Red Dot award attracted nearly 6,000 submissions from 52 countries. The AVX400 won for design concept in the “green” category, recognizing the achievement of DesignworksUSA (DW), the international strategic design consultancy owned by BMW Group. AV had engaged DW to conceive the aesthetic component of the Architectural Wind system. A small, modular wind turbine system, Architectural Wind was designed for quick and easy installation onto the parapet of a new or existing tilt-up or pre-cast buildings – with little or no structural impact – and would comprise the new three-bladed, 400-watt AVX400 wind turbines.
The I.D. Annual Design Review, open to designers anywhere in the world, is one of the broadest and oldest design competitions. In this 53 rd edition, the AVX400 was judged Design Distinction winner in the equipment category by a jury of leading industry practitioners, one of whom commented: “They can even put it on an ugly building and make it look interesting.”
“We’re extremely pleased with the sleek, dynamic look of our AVX turbine and that its superb design has earned these two prestigious awards,” said Joe Edwards, Vice President & General Manager, AeroVironment’s Energy Technology Center. “DesignworksUSA met the creative challenge, and the positive reaction from customers and others who’ve seen our solution bears this out. The new wind turbines provide an attractive complement to a building’s structural design – an important consideration for property owners who want a system that does more than just generate clean, cost-efficient energy.”
Plextronics' Organic Solar Cell Technology Breaks World Record
Plextronics, Inc.’s photovoltaic technology has achieved a world record in the conversion of solar light to power efficiency.The company's result of 5.4 percent establishes a new world record for single layer organic solar cells as certified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), in Golden, Colo.
Troy Hammond, vice president of products for Plextronics, said that the company began its organic photovoltaic development program less than two years ago, with the support of the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority.
"Today's world-record performance demonstrates the rapid pace at which our technology is progressing," said Hammond. "We look forward to continuing this advancement until we have enabled low-cost solar cell products with our Plexcore ink system."
Plexcore ink systems for organic photovoltaic cells enable the low-cost printing of photo-active and charge carrier layers, which together convert light to power in the organic photovoltaic cell. The ability to print organic photovoltaic cells on glass or plastic drastically reduces the cost of energy compared to silicon solar cell technology. Specifically, Plextronics’ technology has the potential to reduce the cost of solar cells below the commercially important threshold of $1 per watt, which is a reduction of up to five times that of crystalline silicon-based solar energy systems.
Chevron Expands Geothermal Operations in Indonesia
Chevron Corp. has started commercial production at its 110- megawatt (MW) Darajat III geothermal power plant in Garut, West Java, Indonesia. Production from the Darajat III unit, operated by Chevron's subsidiary Chevron Geothermal Indonesia, Ltd., increases the total capacity at the Darajat geothermal facility to 259 MW. The combined output from Chevron's Darajat and Salak geothermal operations now produces sufficient renewable energy to supply approximately 3.9 million homes in Indonesia.
"Chevron is proud to be involved in the development of this renewable energy project, which builds on our position as the largest geothermal energy producer in the world," said John Watson, president of Chevron International Exploration and Production.
Chris Prattini, managing director of Chevron's IndoAsia Business Unit said, "We extend our gratitude to the government and community for their ongoing support of our geothermal operations. Chevron has had a presence in Indonesia for more than 80 years, and we are pleased to be able to bring our technology, reservoir management skill and drilling capabilities to help develop the country's geothermal resources for the people of Indonesia."
The Darajat III unit has been approved by the United Nations as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project, a market-based instrument of the UN's Kyoto Protocol to encourage implementation of cost-effective greenhouse gas reductions. Darajat III is the largest geothermal energy project to be registered under the CDM program.
Unique Quantum Effect Found in Silicon Nanocrystals
Researchers at the US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), collaborating with Innovalight, Inc., have shown that a new and important effect called Multiple Exciton Generation (MEG) occurs efficiently in silicon nanocrystals. MEG results in the formation of more than one electron per absorbed photon.
Silicon is the dominant semiconductor material used in present day solar cells, representing more than 93 percent of the photovoltaic cell market. Until this discovery, MEG had been reported over the past two years to occur only in nanocrystals (also called quantum dots) of semiconductor materials that are not presently used in commercial solar cells, and which contained environmentally harmful materials (such as lead). The new result opens the door to the potential application of MEG for greatly enhancing the conversion efficiency of solar cells based on silicon because more of the sun’s energy is converted to electricity. This is a key step toward making solar energy more cost-competitive with conventional power sources.
In a paper published in the initial on-line version of the American Chemical Society’s Nano Letters Journal, an NREL team reported that silicon nanocrystals, or quantum dots, can produce more than one electron from single photons of sunlight that have wavelengths less than 420 nm. When today’s photovoltaic solar cells absorb a photon of sunlight, about 50 percent of the incident energy is lost as heat. MEG provides a way to convert some of this energy lost as heat into additional electricity.
The findings represent an important extension of the range of semiconductor materials that exhibit MEG and are a further confirmation of pioneering work by Nozik, who in 1997 predicted that semiconductor quantum dots could exhibit efficient electron multiplication and hence increase the efficiency of solar cells.
To date, all experiments showing the production of more than one electron per absorbed photon have been based on various types of optical spectroscopy. In a solar cell device it is necessary to extract the electrons produced in the quantum dots and pass them through an external circuit to generate electrical power. Such experiments are currently underway at NREL, Innovalight and other laboratories to demonstrate that MEG can indeed lead to enhanced solar cell efficiencies. Calculations at NREL have shown that the maximum theoretical efficiency of quantum dot solar cells exhibiting optimal MEG is about 44 percent with normal unconcentrated sunlight and 68 percent with sunlight concentrated by a factor of 500 with special lenses or mirrors. Today’s conventional solar cells that produce one electron per photon have maximum efficiencies of 33 percent and 40 percent, respectively, under the same solar conditions.
In addition to efficiently extracting the electrons from the quantum dots in solar cells, future research is directed toward producing MEG at wavelengths that have a greater overlap with the solar spectrum, as well as producing a much sharper onset of the MEG processes with decreasing wavelength of the photons.
Ormat Technologies Secures Seven Geothermal Leases in Nevada
Ormat Technologies, Inc.has won a bid for approximately 68,900 acres of geothermal leases in Nevada, that were auctioned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for the total amount of approximately $8.2 million.
Dita Bronicki, president and CEO of Ormat Technologies, said: "This auction is an implementation of the new BLM rule which includes a requirement that geothermal resources be offered through a competitive lease process. Our successful bid secures lease agreements for seven new sites in Nevada, which will support our growth plans in the years to come, however, there is no assurance that all of the leases will be found suitable for commercial projects."
UPC Wind’s Sheffield Wind Project Approved by the Vermont Public Service Board
UPC Wind has made major progress for its proposed 40 megawatt (MW) Sheffield Wind Project, in Sheffield, Vermont. With the promise to provide revenue and new jobs for the surrounding area, the project has received its Certificate of Public Good from the Vermont Public Service Board.
“We are pleased that the Public Service Board has recognized the value of this proposed project in providing clean and affordable energy for Vermont,” said Paul Gaynor, president and CEO of UPC Wind. “We listened closely to the public and agency comments on the project and have made multiple adjustments. These changes reflect the input of the surrounding community and several state agencies.”
UPC Wind worked with a number of Vermont agencies and communities over the past 18 months to minimize the size and environmental impact of the Sheffield Wind project. With a focus on balancing all interests, the location of the project has been adjusted three times and different wind turbines selected to optimize the output from fewer turbines. The proposed location for the project is a relatively low-lying ridgeline in Sheffield, not far from Interstate-91. It will be located on lands that are under active forest management.
Building on this most recent milestone, UPC Wind will now move forward with opening an office in the Town of Sheffield and focus on finalizing construction plans. UPC Wind will also closely watch the Vermont legislature’s deliberations over tax incentives for renewable energy projects.
UPC Wind also worked with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources to address potential issues with birds and bats that are unique to wind energy projects. UPC Wind has already completed several studies and is committed to operating the project in a manner which should further reduce potential impacts to birds and bats. In addition, 2,700 acres surrounding the project will be conserved as bear habitat.
Upon completion, the Sheffield Wind Project will consist of the construction and operation of 16 Clipper Liberty 2.5 megawatt (MW) wind turbines. The installation will employ up to 75 people during the design, engineering and construction of the facility, with the potential for local employment on road, foundation and electrical line construction work. Once finished the project will produce approximately 115,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of clean electricity annually, enough to power all of the homes in Caledonia County.
Schott and Wacker Set up Joint Venture to Produce Solar Wafers
Schott Solar and Wacker Chemie AG plan to set up two joint ventures to produce and market silicon wafers for solar applications. Both companies signed a related agreement today. Over the next years, the two partners plan to invest a total of 370 million euros in facilities in Jena (Thuringia) and Alzenau ( Bavaria), creating at least 700 new jobs at these German sites. The project is subject to approval by the German and European authorities. The joint venture – Schott Wacker Solar GmbH – is scheduled to start operations this year. It will produce multicrystalline silicon ingots and wafers, the starting material for solar cells. Solar-wafer production capacity is set to expand in stages, reaching about one gigawatt/year by 2012. This will make the joint venture one of the world’s five largest solar-wafer manufacturers.
Prof. Udo Ungeheuer, president and CEO of Schott, stated that he was extremely pleased about the new joint venture. “Given polysilicon’s actual global scarcity, a reliable supply of this raw material is essential to Schott Solar’s ambitious growth targets in the photovoltaic sector,” he explained. “Combined with our current capacity expansions for solar cells and modules in Alzenau and Valasské Mezirící in the Czech Republic, the joint venture will play a decisive role in strengthening SCHOTT Solar’s position as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of solar-energy components.”
Wacker will supply Schott Wacker Solar with the hyperpure polycrystalline silicon it needs to produce wafers. The major part of the joint venture’s wafers will be used by Schott to make solar cells. Solar wafers, however, will also be sold to other solar-cell producers in order to capitalize on growth opportunities and related scale effects. To this end, both companies plan to establish a separate joint venture.
Schott and Wacker each will hold a 50 percent equity stake in the production joint venture Schott Wacker Solar GmbH, while in the sales joint venture Wacker will hold 51 percent and Schott 49 percent. The production joint venture includes Schott's existing facilities in Alzenau for producing solar wafers and those in Jena for producing multicrystalline silicon ingots. |
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