Photo Courtesy of Solaicx
Solaicx, a manufacturing company that produces high-efficiency silicon wafers for photovoltaic solar power, has announced a new facility planned for Portland, Oregon.
The 136,000-square-foot plant will produce silicon ingots, which are logs of pure silicon that get heated to high temperatures and sliced like lunch meat to make silicon wafers. The wafers are the semiconductor materials in solar panels. The process for producing and processing
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People of faith from around the globe are taking the lead on global warming solutions. Following on the heels of an alliance among some U.S. faith leaders to fight global warming, the Vatican has announced plans to install a giant solar power system.
The 1,000 solar panels will adorn the football-sized roof of the Paul VI audience hall, one of the top energy guzzlers in the sovereign city state. The solar system [...]
Ontario, Canada is building one of the largest solar power plants in the world. More than a million photovoltaic solar panels will be constructed near Sarnia, Ontario, about 70 miles northeast of Detroit, MI. The 40 megawatt (MW) project – with panels erected as high as 23 feet off the ground – will power around 6,000 homes.
OptiSolar Farms of Canada, a subsidiary of California-based Opticsolar, Inc. was awarded the 20-year [...]
A hugely successful solar power project in India is providing clean, affordable electricity for 100,00 people and will be reproduced in other developing nations.
The $1.5 million United Nations-backed project aims to increase the number of homes using solar power in the Karnataka state of southern India. The number of homes using solar power has risen from 1,400 just four years ago to 18,000 today. Indian banks have also helped out by financing the
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The U.S. Air Force is building the largest solar plant on the continent for the Nellis Air Force base in the Nevada desert. The massive photovoltaic array with silicon wafer panels covers 140 acres and will produce 15 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 30 percent of the base’s needs. The panels will even rotate to follow the sun across the sky.
Cross section of nanotube tower: Photo credit: Georgia Tech Research InstituteThe Georgia Tech Research Institute has come up with a solar panel design that could revolutionize the solar industry.
The new design features many nano-towers - think of microscopic blades of grass - that capture more sunlight because they have a larger surface area than the traditional flat design of photovoltaic (PV) cells. These three-dimensional panels produce about 60 [...]
By Ecotality Life •
April 13, 2007
Editor's note: Our friends at Ecotality found out the meaning of "mixed blessing" today: this post we're republishing was picked up by the Drudge Report, and the ensuing traffic crashed their blog. We wish them best of luck in getting back on track…
by Ecotality blogger Bill Hobbs
Sign seen in front of Al Gore's mansion in the posh Belle Meade section of Nashville Thursday, indicating Gore is moving forward with plans
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Gary Reysa and his wife cut their energy use in half with their self-designed “Half Plan.” A retired airplane product development engineer from Boeing, Gary continues to satisfy his mechanical and creative curiosity with an array of efficiency and renewable energy projects at his home near Bozeman, MT.
I spoke with Gary by phone on April 5th.
Green Options: Why did you decide to cut your energy use in
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Photo Credit: Green Wombat
Last week, the planet’s most powerful solar energy system was inaugurated in Serpa, Portugal, about 125 miles southeast of Lisbon. Covering approximately 150 acres, the solar farm is already making electricity for 8,000 homes in one of the poorest areas of the country.
The solar system was built by California-based PowerLight and financed and owned by GE Energy Financial Services. Todd Woody of the Green
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Mike Strizki’s utility bill is zero, thanks to some creative thinking using renewable energy technologies. By using solar panels, a hydrogen fuel cell, storage tanks and an electrolyzer, he has enough electricity even on the cloudiest days. And Strizki isn’t a hermit living in the dark off of snails and rainwater, either. His 3,500 square foot house is located in central New Jersey on 12 acres, with amenities you’d see in any 21st century home,
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Oregon has seen some exciting solar energy policies lately, like increasing its net metering laws to 2 megawatts (MW), proposed legislation for a renewable energy standard that includes provisions for community solar power, and a bill increasing the incentives for residential solar hot water and solar electric systems.
Now you can add “North America’s largest solar factory” to the state’s sunny solar outlook.
