Solar Panels and Wind

Hoku Solar, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hoku Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOKU) and United Fund Advisors (UFA) today announced the establishment and capitalization of an investment company intended to provide financing for photovoltaic (PV) power systems to be installed and operated in the State of Hawaii by Hoku Solar.

Hoku had previously announced its selection by the Hawaii Department of Transportation (DOT) to design, engineer and install PV power systems at airports across the state.

One of the nation’s largest producers of energy, Dominion Virginia Power, has received approval from the Virginia State Corporation Commission to offer its customers two new options to purchase renewable energy.

Renewable energy can be derived from sunlight, wind, falling water, sustainable biomass, waste, wave motion, tides and geothermal power.

“We are very pleased with the commission’s decision to allow us to provide our customers with a convenient, low-cost way to voluntarily support renewable energy,” said David A. Heacock, president of Dominion Virginia Power. “The renewable energy supported through this program will be above and beyond what Dominion produces, so this will encourage development of additional generation of renewable power. Many of our customers have asked us to provide them with this option.”

The new program provides two convenient ways for residential and business customers to purchase renewable energy through their monthly bills beginning in January 2009.

In a recent article at DailyTech, improvements in generator technology may lead to huge improvements in the efficiencies of wind turbines. ExRo, the company developing the new tech, is using circuitry to maximize the potential of the wind rather than traditional mechanical transmissions that rob the unit of power.

Some highlights:

“Ordinary wind power generators have an optimal rate which is fine tuned to local average wind conditions.  When the wind is blowing at this speed, the turbine produces electricity at an outstanding efficiency of around 90 percent.  However, when the wind blows faster or slower the efficiency significantly decreases. This is a major cause of why wind power is more expensive than coal, which burns in plants with turbines that turn at steady rates, maintaining the higher efficiency.

In the past, some have tried blades that change pitch to catch more or less wind and maintain a steady pace.  Others have used mechanical transmissions.  However, these components tend to be expensive, raise maintenance costs, and only help so much.

The new generator scraps the mechanical transmission, replacing it with an electrical one. The new transmission still requires a bit of blade pitching when winds are extremely high.  However, it is able to extend the peak efficiency range significantly, balancing gusts and lulls, and producing, over the course of the year, up to 50 percent more power.”

Read

Pricester.com,  www.pricester.com, announced that its Genesis Electronics subsidiary has formalized a partnership with Taiwan-based Comm Tec Corporation.

Pricester’s solar-powered cell phone chargers will be configured for use with popular cell phones in both domestic and Asian markets. The chargers are compact “holsters” that use solar energy to maintain the phone’s battery at optimal charge, eliminating the need to re-charge the battery with inconvenient and often unavailable plug-in methods. No wires, clumsy attachments or adapters are required. Pricester holds the exclusive patent for this technology to transfer solar energy to portable devices.

source: The Earth Times

enXco – an EDF Energies Nouvelles Company announced today that it has closed on the project financing for the Shiloh II Wind Energy Project under construction in the Montezuma Hills Wind Resource Area of Solano County, California.

Construction of the 150-megawatt wind farm, consisting of 75 REpower 2 MW turbines, commenced in May, with commercial operation expected in December 2008. Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) will purchase the power generated under a 20-year power purchase agreement. The Shiloh II wind farm will be operated and maintained by enXco Service Corporation.

LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (”LDK Solar”; NYSE: LDK), a leading manufacturer of multicrystalline solar wafers, today announced that it has signed a three-year contract to supply multi-crystalline solar wafers to BP Solar International,Inc.

Under the terms of the agreement, LDK Solar will deliver approximately 435 MW of multicrystalline silicon solar wafers over a three-year period, commencing in 2009 and extending through 2011. During this period BP Solar International will supply a minimum of 1,680 MT of silicon to LDK Solar.

“We are very pleased to extend our relationship with BP Solar,” stated Mr. Xiaofeng Peng, Chairman and CEO of LDK Solar. “This additional wafer supply contract expands our North American presence and further enhances LDK’s position as a market leader.”

“BP Solar has ambitious growth plans over the next few years. We are committed to our customers and ensuring that they receive high quality products at competitive prices. So we are delighted with this supply
agreement with LDK Solar that supports this approach,” commented Reyad Fezzani, CEO of BP Solar.

Solzar, a leading designer and manufacturer of solar power systems, announced today it has broadened its solar power systems product line to include Solar-Max (Outdoor Solar Power System) and MSolar (Portable Solar Power System).

In many rural areas and developing countries, where the electricity grid is unavailable, Solar-Max Off-Grid configuration is an ideal solution. Solar-Max will make use of solar panels to power the system during the day and batteries to power the system at night in order to help reduce/eliminate wireless & wireline energy infrastructure cost and speed network deployment where continuous power sources are not practical.

MSolar comes conveniently packaged in a briefcase with solar panels, which include various electronic accessories and batteries. MSolar can be used for a variety of applications such as emergency services communication power backup, recreational applications, emergency power relief, and temporary lighting
system.

According to Forbes.com, a California-based company, Cool Earth, plans to test a new idea for solar power generation. The company has created a concept utilizing 20 lb balloons made out of plastic with high-efficiency solar cells. Each balloon can generate 1 kilowatt of energy.

From the Korean Press Release Network, Director of S&P Energy Research Institute (SPERI), Doctor of Science Sen Kim said that a new process for producing hydrogen will usher in “Clean Energy for Clean Era”. Dr. Sen Kim (Academician of the European Academy of Natural Science), claimed that laboratory tests have produced 1 cubic meter of hydrogen using only 0.1 kwh of electricity, versus 4 to 5.4 kwhs for the same volume produced through traditional electrolysis. If this is true it may indicate the first truly cost effective way to produce large amounts of hydrogen. The article didn’t elaborate on any additional details of how the process may work, when it may hit the market, or even how expensive it may be to produce, so don’t get your hopes up for the time being.

According to Andrew Williams over at CleanTechnica.com, researchers at Ohio State have developed new solar panel materials that capture energy from the entire visible light spectrum. This breakthrough can lead to super-efficient solar panels in the coming years. Another advantage of this breakthrough material is that the electrons freed during the light to electric conversion stay free much longer than in existing designs. This increased free electron life allows for greater charge capture which in turn leads to greater efficiency gains. Although the technology may be several years from the market, this proof of concept is exciting. Read the full Ohio State story here: Full Spectrum Solar Panels.