Solar Power

One Million Solar Roofs

Philip Proefrock

California has a brand new law. Last week, Governor Schwarzenegger signed a bill to increase the use of solar power in his state. The "Million Solar Roofs" bill seeks to increase California's use of solar power, especially at the residential level.

Grist points out some of the provisions of this bill which include a requirement for production homebuilders to offer solar systems as a standard option. It also increases the amount of electricity that net-metered homes can sell back to the utility at retail rates (getting only wholesale rate on your net metered electricity is a disincentive for more people to participate).

Much of California, with its sunny climate, is the kind of place where individual solar hot water systems and photovoltaics just makes sense. Especially as the price drops, and the costs of traditional power sources rise.

via: Grist

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Thinking about Going Solar?

Philip Proefrock

So you've decided that you need to add some solar power to your life. But where, you ask yourself, can I find someone who will install my new system?

A new website called FindSolar.com has a large database of solar/alternative energy professionals, an extensive FAQ section to help you gather more information about solar power alternatives, and a Solar Estimator that will help you evaluate solar power options, in terms of cost, payback period, etc.

via: EC&M Magazine

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Solar Panel Printing Press

Hank Green

NanoSolar has just announced that it will be building a 430 MW / year production facility. That's equivalent to about 200 million solar cells per year. The best thing about Nanosolar is that they don't use silicon. Traditional solar cells require the use of expensive and environmentally costly to produce silicon wafers. The solar industry, if you can believe it, actually uses more silicon than the microprocessor industry. And silicon is nasty stuff.

So Nanosolar's thin-film, printable, copper-indium-gallium-selenium cells are very desirable. They're thin, flexible, durable and cheap. Depending on how much efficiency they can squeeze out of these cells and how cheap they can ultimately make them, solar might soon become cheaper than conventional power sources in much of the country. All thanks to Nanosolar (and that $25 million in seed funding from the founders of Google.)

Via TreeHugger

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The World's Largest Laundry is Powered by Sun

Hank Green

The World's Larges Laundromat contains 153 washers, 147 dryers, and 36 water-heating roof panels. Tom Benson, owner, says he did it for purely financial reasons, but his customers thank him daily for helping the environment.

Heating water is a wasteful business, and laundromats need a lot of hot water. The solar system is a basic solar hot water heater, just a bunch of flat black panels with water running through them, no fancy photovoltaics needed. Every year, Tom Benson's laundry saves about $25,000 in energy costs thanks to solar heating.

Though the cost of the system will be generating excess cash in five years, and Benson's Chicago locale is by no means ideal for solar, very few laundromats have embraced solar water heating. But as energy prices continue to climb, laundromat owners will likely follow Benson's example.

Via USA Today

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Solar Power Tower

Philip Proefrock

We've heard about this concept before, but it looks like an Australian group is going ahead with their plan to build a large-scale solar power tower capable of providing power to 100,000 homes.

The concept is to enclose the area around the base of the tower in a glass greenhouse that captures solar energy. The superheated air rises through a central chimney with turbines to generate electricity. Furthermore, by using heat retaining materials on the ground which release heat during the night, the developers believe that they will be able to generate electricity 24 hours a day.

The company has a great animated diagram that illustrates how the system works. It requires a sizable area and consistent sunshine, which is why this first installation is being set in the Australian Outback.

If you're looking for something a bit more pretty, this 3D video of the the Solar Power Tower gives you a full on walkthrough of the technological marvel, though I suggest turning the sound off to avoid the cheesy music. The tower will be over 1000 feet tall and, according to the rendering, there will be an observation deck at the top of it. Oh, and if you keep watching 'till the end, you'll see that the Australian outback may someday be dotted with these humongous installations.

The system has few of the drawbacks which some opponents of wind farms find objectionable. For example, there are no external blades which would pose a threat to birds. People may, however, consider them to be ugly. But I don't think it's uglier than a world of submerged coastal cities.

via Ecofriend

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One Million Solar Roofs

Thinking about Going Solar?

Solar Panel Printing Press

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