pv

 The pace of solar energy development is accelerating as the installation of rooftop solar water heaters takes off. Unlike solar photovoltaic (PV) panels that convert solar radiation into electricity, these “solar thermal collectors” use the sun’s energy to heat water, space, or both.China had an estimated 168 million square meters...[read more]

 As we near the end of a tumultuous year for solar PV, the latest report from GTM/SEIA indicates there is more momentum that ever for residential solar. A number of factors - the growth in solar leases, the glut in global panel production, and the complex web of economic incentives - have already made this the strongest year in US...[read more]

Julia Hamm, Executive Director of the Solar Electric Power Association, discusses the current status of the solar industry and why the uility’s role in the growth of the solar industry is growing. Full Transcript:Ben lack:What is SEPA’s stance with regards to China’s involvement to generate additional solar capacity and trying to...[read more]

As the United Nations climate change conference rages on, quite literally, in Durban South Africa, experts from COP17’s host city point to one alternative energy source that could help it mitigate its emissions: solar power.[read more]

Once an after-thought in solar development, the latest data shows the Asia-Pacific region is becoming the industry's biggest market for photovoltaic solar power. According the research performed by Solarbuzz, and presented in its Asia Pacific Major PV Markets report, Asia's PV market is forecast to increase 39% in the final quarter of 2011. Looking at the numbers annually, between Q4 2010 and Q4 2011, the region's market will have grown 130%.[read more]

  The view from the NRG suite at Redskins Park The Washington Redskins played with enough energy to send Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys into overtime, but by the time the ‘Skins fell to their sixth consecutive loss, my host at Redskins Park  — David Crane, the chief executive of NRG Energy — had left. Actually, he...[read more]

 It may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but at the same time it could also be the method whereby solar power could be magnified to a global industrial scale.   According to former NASA manager of Advanced Concepts Studies Office of Space Flight , John C. Mankins, space-based solar power (SSP) systems could be capable...[read more]

It has been widely assumed among pundits and policy makers that the continued expansion of solar photovoltaic (PV) installations will drive down PV costs until the electricity they produce is competitive with conventional power sources without the need for subsidies. This belief is grounded in both recent PV cost trends and the...[read more]

Greg Barker has told the domestic solar industry that all new domestic PV sites from April 2012 must meet minimum energy efficiency standards.Speaking at the Solar Power UK conference yesterday in Birmingham to an audience of PV installers angry at the cut in Feed-in-Tariffs for PV that has thrown their business models onto the rubbish...[read more]

A new study on the impact of regional temperature differences on solar generating potential arrives at some surprising conclusions about the world's best locations for solar power. While the US desert southwest still ranks high, as you'd expect, it turns out that some of the best sites may be in places most of us would never suspect,...[read more]

If you’re interested in starting a solar installation company, you’ve just found a gold mine. I’ve been editing HeatSpring Magazine while helping a friend start a solar business. I’ve found myself constantly answering the same questions, what do I need to go to start a solar company. So, with help from HeatSpring instructors and based on...[read more]

Millions of visitors go to the Cincinnati Zoo every year, but the newest attraction isn’t the new baby giraffe – it’s a solar panel. More accurately, over 6,000 solar panels installed over the zoo’s parking lot, spanning an area the size of four football fields. The sheer size of the arrays is impressive, but not nearly as impressive as their price tag: absolutely nothing.[read more]

One of the nation’s most important (and sadly too little discussed) intercollegiate competitions is on in Washington, DC: the biennial Solar Decathlon. Open to the public for a few more days (through 2 October), the Decathlon brings together 19 university teams from around the globe to compete across ten categories (thus, “decathlon...[read more]

For those of you who did not know, our military spends a lot of money to support itself. One of its biggest expenses is its huge appetite for energy. Specifically, according to Colonel Dan Nolan, “The DOD is the world’s largest oil consumer,” accounting for 25% of the globe’s consumption. Due to that need for oil, Colonel Nolan says that...[read more]

Election year politics ensure that Solyndra is going to get at least a full news cycle's worth of attention. Here are some interesting facts to consider as the Solyndra kerfluffle builds steam: Solyndra was a very small piece of the policy picture - Solyndra's $535M loan is just 1.2% of the total $38.6B loan guarantees issued by DOE. (...[read more]