Larry Morris

http://gajitz.com/done-by-the-sun-huge-glass-marble-solar-energy-collectors/

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Done By the Sun: Huge Glass Marble Solar Energy Collectors

Capturing and using the power of the sun is one of the most promising ways we have to supply the world with clean power. This spherical solar collector is able to concentrate sunlight up to 10,000 times. But the really fantastic thing about this system is that it can also create power from moonlight, something that other solar power systems have not been able to promise.

The ß.torics system from designers Rawlemon is fully rotational and able to be integrated into building walls. Because the spheres are made of glass, they can function as windows as well as solar collectors. Unlike other solar power collection systems, this one is truly beautiful.

The high-efficiency system could be integrated into any number of urban applications, turning buildings into works of art capable of producing their own energy. The company behind the system claims that it is 35% more efficient than other solar options, making it an outstanding future option for green energy production. No word yet on how much the system will cost, however.

Rooftop solar is cheaper then grid Electricity

I think its really interesting that rooftop solar across the country has such a different price range depending on the power company an local incentives. Its great that the price has come down so much that the average household can now have a PV system and reduce there energy cost and footprint. Also i was sup pride to see the different ranks for solar cites across the US. I didn't think some of those cities would've been ranked so high but i guess that is due to the local incentives.
- Devon Larsen

Rooftop solar is now cheaper than the utility grid?

A few days ago my friend sent me this surprising article that I thought this blog might like. It claims that in 42 major US cities home solar energy has become less expensive than their utility grid. There is some interesting economic data on solar energy as an investment.  Of course, these studies take into consideration tax credits, financing and incentives that are available currently (but are subject to change).  

I also found it interesting that Colorado Springs has exceptionally low prices for solar PV. Here is the link for the article:

http://www.utilitydive.com/news/rooftop-solar-is-now-cheaper-than-the-grid-in-42-american-cities/352799/#.VMXDO4cILY0.mailto

My uncle also sent me a picture of a newspaper article citing a similar study (found below). 

By Kevin Lanphere

PV panels made from copper oxide

Credit:  Larry Morris
this could be awsome
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/134305-so-long-silicon-researchers-create-solar-panels-from-cheap-copper-oxide

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Researchers from the University of California and Berkeley Lab have discovered a way of making photovoltaic cells out of any semiconducting material, not just beautiful, expensive crystals of silicon. In principle, this could open the doors to much cheaper solar power.

Almost every solar panel on the market is made by cutting off two thin (200 micron, 0.2mm) slices from a large crystal of silicon, and then doping them with impurities to enhance the photovoltaic effect — phosphorous to make n-type silicon, and boron to make p-type silicon. These slices are layered together, electrodes are added to the top and bottom, the whole thing is framed in protective glass — and voila, a standard photovoltaic cell.

Now, in theory, you can dope any semiconductor — but cheaper, more-readily-available semiconductors, such as copper oxide, don’t retain dopants very well, eventually leading to the breakdown of the p-n junctions. Silicon holds dopants very well, but it isn’t cheap.

To get around this problem, the Californian researchers have developed a new type of solar cell called screening-engineered field-effect photovoltaics, or SFPV for short. Instead of physical doping, SFPVs use a minute electric field to achieve the same doping effect. While this electric field is present, the p-n junction remains and the photovoltaic cell continues to produce a lot of electricity. The energy required to produce this electric field is apparently a lot less than the energy produced by the photovoltaic effect.

The electric field effect isn’t new (you may have heard of field-effect transistors?), but its application in photovoltaic cells is novel. The main problem that the UoC and Berkeley Lab researchers came across is that you need a contact above the semiconductor to deliver the electric field — but of course that obscures the semiconductor from sunlight. The solution devised by the researchers is simple: You either use a very thin contact, like graphene(which is transparent), or you use a series of narrow, fin-like contacts (pictured above).

What’s next? “This research opens up scores of new semiconductors (many metal oxides, sulfides, and phosphides) for practical photovoltaic applications, so we are currently identifying the ones with the greatest potential for low-cost, high-efficiency solar cells,” says Will Regan the lead author, to Ars Technica.

Once the best material has been found, it still won’t be an easy ride: there’s a huge industry (mainly in China) dedicated to producing standard photovoltaic cells, and they lack the equipment or expertise to produce SFPVs. It isn’t quite as bad as the computer chip industry, where trillions of dollars are invested in silicon, but it will still take considerable effort to shift the industry towards SFPVs. The cost savings are there for the taking, though — and I dare say, the first company to produce solar power that’s significantly cheaper than fossil fuels is onto a winner.