PV FROM HEAVEN - Solfocus Builds a More Productive, Efficient, Recyclable Solar Panel at Lower Cost

SolFocus, the leading developer of Concentrator Photovoltaic (CPV) systems, announced today that its SF-1000P module is the first CPV product to meet the rigorous performance, qualification, and safety standards of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 62108 standard. The IEC is the world's leading organization that prepares and publishes international standards for electrical and electronic technologies.

"The real-world testing conducted for the IEC CPV standard proves that SolFocus systems meet both the performance, qualification, and reliability criteria, critical in bringing CPV to a truly global scale," said Mark Crowley, president and chief executive officer of SolFocus. "We have already proven that CPV can yield nearly twice the efficiency of traditional PV systems, but meeting the IEC's rigorous CPV requirements proves that SolFocus systems can perform consistently across a variety of climates and environments. This validation sends a message to developers, investors and customers that CPV is on track to global commercialization."

The IEC 62108 standard for photovoltaic concentrators and receivers was created to verify the safety, photoelectric performance and environmental reliability of panels designed with CPV technology and ready to be introduced to this emerging marketplace. The standard was designed to be universal, taking into account different environments and manufacturing technologies across geographies.

The SolFocus system was shown to meet all requirements of the IEC 62108 standard, which specifies the design qualification and type approval of concentrator photovoltaic modules and assemblies suitable for long-term operation in general open-air climates. The electrical, mechanical, and thermal characteristics of the SolFocus CPV system were shown to be safe, high-performing and capable of withstanding prolonged exposure in varied climates.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT SOLFOCUS.COM

MAKING CLEAN ENERGY CLEAN - BioSolar Makes PV panels Less Toxic While Cutting Costs

Santa Clarita, CA – BioSolar, Inc. (OTC BB: BSRC) has garnered media coverage in numerous high-profile publications following its recent announcement that the company will be shipping its first commercial product, BioBacksheet-C™, in the second half of 2009. BioBacksheet-C is a protective covering in the back of virtually all photovoltaic solar cells designed to replace expensive and hazardous petroleum-based film with a bio-based film.

“It’s no secret that solar panels, while capable of producing clean renewable energy, are themselves laden with potentially harmful materials. One California company says it has developed products that will make panels more environmentally palatable,” reported Sustainable Industries of BioSolar’s line of proprietary BioBacksheet™ protective coverings on June 18.

The same article mentions BioSolar has been working with several unnamed solar panel manufacturers to test its products before transitioning into production mode by the end of 2009 for its cotton- and castor oil-derived materials that “match plastic’s durability and can be used in existing panel manufacturing facilities.”

ARTICLE CONTIUES AT BIOSOLAR.COM

WORLD'S MOST ADVANCED GREEN SUPERMARKET Opens in Maine & Achieves LEED's 1st Platinum Green Rating

AUGUSTA, Maine -- From its roof sown with plants to the depths of its two geothermal wells, a new Hannaford supermarket has been declared the greenest of the green groceries in the United States. It's the first to earn the highest rating possible from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The 49,000-square-foot store on the grounds of a former high school in Augusta, Maine, opens on Saturday.

With its newly minted LEED-Platinum certification, awarded this week, the Hannaford store has become the most prominent symbol of success among the growing efforts by supermarkets to make their operations more environmentally responsible through stricter management of energy and water use and waste.

Improving energy efficiency is a key challenge for food retailers whose imperatives are to keep perishables chilled properly and customers comfortable in buildings with large front doors that are constantly opening and shutting. Typically, refrigeration eats up the most energy (PDF) in a supermarket and accounts for more than half the electricity consumed. Lighting and HVAC systems are the No. 2 and No. 3 draws, respectively, on power.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT GREENERBUILDINGS.COM

FEED-IN TARIFFING SPREADS TO CALIFORNIA - 100mw Worth To Be Available In Sacramento Area

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has established a feed-in tariff (FIT) that will become effective in January 2010.

According to SMUD, the FIT will be aimed at systems up to 5 MW connected to SMUD's local distribution system, and is capped at 100 MW system-wide. The SMUD FIT will apply to both renewable and fossil-fuel generation technologies, and the utility states that it will set higher prices for power produced from renewable sources like solar and biogas.

SMUD adds that it sees the FIT as a way to provide a new opportunity for customers to own or host efficient small-scale generation plants, and that it will help the utility meet its
renewable portfolio standard and greenhouse gas reduction goals.
ARTICLE POSTED AT ALTERNATIVE ENERGY RETAILER

POWERING EUROPE FROM AFRICA DESERTS

By James Kanter

Desertec.org A German consortium is hoping to drum up support for the idea of harvesting solar power from the deserts of North Africa and transmitting it to Europe. (Click map for larger view.)

Germany has become a global leader in solar energy by building up a substantial industry at home. Can the country now repeat the feat in North Africa?

Munich Re, an insurance company, is leading efforts to garner support for a vast project, dubbed Desertec, to collect energy at solar farms in countries like Tunisia and then send it to Europe in the form of electricity. Munich Re wants other companies like the giant engineering group Siemens, Deutsche Bank, and utilities like RWE and E.ON to become involved.

Under the plan, energy would be gathered mostly using concentrating solar power, a technology that uses mirrors to harness rays from the sun to produce steam and drive turbines that make electricity. The power would then be delivered to Europe through high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cables.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT THE NEW YORK TIMES

IS THIS THE WAY TO SOLVE OVERPOPULATION? - Drift around the world on a high-tech lily-pad city

IT COULD be the solution to rising sea levels - a floating city for 50,000 people in the shape of a lily pad. "Lilypad" is the brainchild of Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut.

"Lilypad is what a completely self-sufficient floating city for 50,000 people could look like," he said. "The design of the city is inspired by the shape of the great Amazonia Victoria Regia lily pad.

"Some countries spend billions of pounds working on making their beaches and dams bigger and stronger but the Lilypad project is actually a long-term solution to the problem of the water rising.

Mr Callebaut's computer-generated design is of an amphibious city without any roads or any cars. "The whole city is covered by plants housed in suspended gardens," he said. "The goal is to create a harmonious co-existence of humans and nature."

Sea levels are predicted to rise by about 50centimetres by 2100, leaving low-lying Pacific islands such as Tuvalu and Kiribati largely submerged and their populations homeless. In Australia, councils along the NSW coast are already dealing with dramatic coastal erosion.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

THIS BATTERY TECHNOLOGY MAY IMPROVE EV'S RANGE BY 3-10X - Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Sulfur power: This prototype lithium-sulfur battery was developed by Sion Power. In cooperation with BASF, the company intends to improve the battery design for use in electric vehicles.
Credit: Sion Power

Lithium-sulfur batteries, which can potentially store several times more energy than lithium-ion batteries, have historically been too costly, unsafe, and unreliable to make commercially. But they're getting a fresh look now, due to some recent advances. Improvements to the design of these batteries have led the chemical giant BASF of Ludwigshafen, Germany, to team up with Sion Power, a company in Tucson, AZ, that has already developed prototype lithium-sulfur battery cells.

"Compared to existing technologies used in electric vehicles, the plan is to increase driving distance at least 5 to 10 times," for a given-size battery, says Thomas Weber, CEO of a subsidiary of BASF called BASF Future Business. Other experts say that a threefold improvement is a more reasonable estimate, but that would still be an impressive jump in performance. Weber says that BASF's expertise in materials will help Sion Power further improve its technology and bring it to market faster. He declined to provide details of the arrangement, however, including how much money is involved and how the companies will share any profits.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT MIT'S TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

HYDROGEN CAR DESTINY - Entrepreneur Dreams of ’Hydrogen-Hybrid’ Car Network

By Steven Cole Smith / The Orlando Sentinel
ORLANDO, Fla. — Malcolm Bricklin, a legendary automotive entrepreneur, says he has spent the last year spending time and money developing "something everybody said was a scam."

His plan could revolutionize the auto industry, keep open at least two factories and offer a product that rejected Chrysler and General Motors dealers could sell, the former Orlando resident says.

In a nutshell, Bricklin is proposing his company, Visionary Vehicles, buy up to 300,000 new vehicles a year from GM and Chrysler, upgrade the interiors "from standard to luxury," and install "hydrogen hybrid" engine technology he says could double fuel mileage.

"I know I have a product that I can put on cars that will make them get 100 percent better mileage," he said in a recent interview.

In a three-page proposal, his company would market these vehicles as Visionary Vehicles/Chrysler or Visionary Vehicles/GM.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT THE BOSTON HERALD

GERMANY INVESTS IN AMERICA'S NEW ECONOMY- Daimler buys stake in Tesla

Tesla's dream of creating affordable, all-electric cars got a high-voltage jolt Tuesday when German auto giant Daimler bought a 10 percent stake in the San Carlos company.

"We're thrilled," said Diarmuid O'Connell, Tesla's vice president of business development. "Daimler invented the internal combustion engine. To partner with them is the greatest endorsement you can have in this business."

Tesla spokeswoman Rachel Konrad only described the dollar value of Daimler's stake in the venture-backed company as being eight figures. In addition, Daimler Vice President Herbert Kohler will take a seat on Tesla's board of directors.

The move follows Daimler's recent purchase of Tesla's lithium-ion battery packs and chargers for the first 1,000 electric Smart cars, which Daimler hopes to introduce next year. Daimler rolled out the gasoline-powered versions of Smart cars in January 2008 in the United States.

Tesla is best known for its Roadster, a zero-emission sports car that can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in four seconds and hit speeds of 130 mph. Unveiled to great fanfare in 2006, the Roadster looks like a Lotus and costs $109,000.

Charged by plugging into an ordinary wall socket, the Roadster can travel 250 miles before its battery needs re-charging.

Tesla executives hope Daimler's investment will help the company achieve its ultimate goal - fine-tuning the technology to create zero-emission, all-electric vehicles with less astronomical prices. The firm is now working on a sedan, expected to come out in 2011, that will cost about $50,000.

article continues here at THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

MORE AC POWER FROM SOLAR PANELS-Enphase Energy is shrinking DC-to-AC inverters to extract more juice from solar panels

There's more to solar power than blue glassy panels shimmering on rooftops. Just as important are the inverters that convert DC power created by the solar panels into grid-ready AC power. Typically, all the panels in a rooftop PV system are connected to one large inverter mounted on the side of a house.

Startup Enphase Energy of Petaluma, CA, is now making the first micro-inverters. These smaller inverters can be bolted to the racking under each solar panel, to convert DC power into AC for each panel individually. The company claims that the devices will increase a PV system's efficiency by 5 to 25 percent and decrease the cost of solar power.

Enphase has raised more than $20 million in its latest round of funding. The company has teamed up with various distributors and partners, including solar-module manufacturer Suntech Power Holdings and installer Akeena Solar, to bring its device to customers. The micro-inverters could be used on residential, commercial, or even utility-scale PV systems, says Todd Wilson, a general partner at RockPort Capital Partners, one of the leading investors in Enphase's technology.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

IT'S TIME - High-speed solar train proposed as Tucson-Phoenix connection

Project, in idea stage, could cost $27B for 1st phase

By Mariana Alvarado - Arizona Daily Star

The solar train could travel from Tucson to Phoenix in 30 minutes and might someday run from Nogales to the Grand Canyon.

A Tucson company wants to send you someday on a sun-fueled ride from one end of the state to the other.

The idea of a high-speed train that runs on solar power is still in its early stage, but the project's creators are pitching the idea to area cities and potential investors.

The idea is to start a train system that connects Tucson and Phoenix in a first phase. In the future it would extend north to Grand Canyon and south to Nogales. The cost for the first phase alone is estimated at $27 billion. It could start operating in 2018.

Retired civil engineer Bill Gaither and business partner Raymond Wright set up Solar Bullet LLC in Tucson in hopes of designing and building the 220 mph solar bullet train, which would run on four tracks.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT ARIZONA DAILY STAR

FORD GETTING READY TO MASS PRODUCE EVs - Will Build Electric Focus in Wayne, Retool Plant FOR 2011 Launch

About 300 UAW workers, Ford Executives and politicians celebrated Ford Motor Co.’s announcement today that it will not only build the Ford Focus at its Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, but also will built an electric version of the car.
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Ford’s $550-million investment preserves about 3,200 jobs and will help the state transform its image from a rust belt state to a green belt state, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm said.

“Thank you for choosing Michigan,” Granholm said. “They could have chosen to go somewhere else in the world, but they chose to have American workers make this car.”

Ford is in the process of transforming Michigan Assembly, previously known as Michigan Truck, from a plant that previously built large SUV's into a plant that will build the compact European version of the Ford Focus starting next year. And, starting in 2011, Ford plans to begin building an electric version of the Ford Focus.

“In the worst of times worldwide, what we are here to do today is to celebrate a plan to profitably grow Ford,” Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally said.

ARTICLE CONTINUES HERE AT DETROIT FREE PRESS

ALGAE BIOFUEL ON THE RISE - Solazyme Demonstrates their Efficiency

“Solazyme’s advanced biofuels substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions per mile driven over petroleum-based fuels and result in much lower carbon emissions than currently available first generation biofuels.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A study undertaken by Life Cycle Associates, LLC, using the Argonne National Laboratories GREET model, concluded that full lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from field-to-wheels for Solazyme’s algal biofuel, Soladiesel^TM, are 85 to 93 percent lower than standard petroleum based ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD). The analysis also reveals that Solazyme’s advanced biofuels result in a significantly lower carbon footprint than any currently available first-generation biofuels.

“Solazyme’s advanced biofuels substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions per mile driven over petroleum-based fuels and result in much lower carbon emissions than currently available first generation biofuels. Lower process energy inputs combined with the production of algae derived feed results in much lower GHG emissions than currently available first-generation biofuels,” said Stefan Unnasch, President of Life Cycle Associates, LLC. “With findings like these, we are confident that algal-biofuels have the potential to play a significant role in alternative fuels and are excited that such a promising technology is in commercial development.”

ARTICLE CONTINUES HERE AT BUSINESS WIRE

IMPROVING UNDERWATER STEALTH - Submarines are Supreme Fuel Cell Vehicles

Fuel cells are getting more popular for powering submarines, where they have useful advantages over nuclear power.

Fuel cells apparently make a good submarine hard to find.

Air Products of Pennsylvania this week announced it supplied a new fueling station to supply a state-of-the-art HDW 214 submarine of the Hellenic (Greek) Navy with hydrogen.

The first fueling of its kind in Greece took place this week in Skaramanga, near Athens.

Air Products supplied the integral components of the hydrogen fueling station to the submarine's designer, Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH (HDW), which has been experimenting with fuel cell technology for submarines since the late 1970s.

HDW's Class 212 and 214 non-nuclear submarines have been developed to use a silent operating fuel cell plant that runs on nine 34-kilowatt Siemens polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) hydrogen fuel cells.

Its air-independent fuel cell propulsion system provides extreme underwater endurance, diving depth and overall efficiency, HDW claims.

The fuel cells, which produce electrical energy from oxygen and hydrogen, allow the submarine to cruise under water for up to three weeks without resurfacing.

Perhaps most importantly, however, because the chemical reactions of fuel cells make no noise and produce no detectable exhaust heat, they make the submarine virtually undetectable, according to designers.

ARTICLE CONTINUES HERE AT CLEANTECH.COM

0 to 60 in 5.8 - FISKER KARMA to be FIRST PLUG-IN HYBRID SOLD in the US

The price of green: The Fisker Karma is a plug-in hybrid that can run on batteries alone for 50 miles. Price: $87,000. Credit: Kevin Bullis

In November, Fisker Automotive will begin sales of a car with 50 miles of battery-powered range.

The first plug-in hybrid to be sold in the United States will likely be the Fisker Karma, which is due out in November. Fisker Automotive, which unveiled the concept version of the Karma in January, recently raised $87 million to help put it into production. A number of other plug-in hybrids, including models from GM, Chrysler, and Toyota, are scheduled to come out in the next few years.

The Karma, a luxury four-passenger sedan, can be recharged by plugging it in; it can then be driven on power from a battery alone for 50 miles. After that, an onboard gasoline generator kicks on to recharge the battery, extending the range by 250 miles between fill-ups. Power from optional solar cells on the roof will be used primarily to cool the car when it's parked, but they could also partially recharge the battery. The car will run on a lithium manganese oxide battery made by Advanced Lithium Power, based in Vancouver, BC. The battery is similar to the one selected for the Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid due out in November of 2010.

ARTICLE CONTINUES HERE AT MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

CAN GOOGLE HELP DIFUSE A SIMMERING GREEN CIVIL WAR? Google Earth to be used to map green energy zones

Can Google help defuse a simmering green civil war between renewable energy advocates and wildlife conservationists in the American West?

That’s the idea behind a new Google Earth mapping project launched Wednesday by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the National Audubon Society. Path to Green Energy will identify areas in 13 western states potentially suitable for massive megawatt solar power plants, wind farms, transmission lines and other green energy projects. The app will also pinpoint critical habitat for protected wildlife such as the desert tortoise in California and Wyoming’s sage grouse as well as other environmentally sensitive lands.

ARTICLE CONTINUES HERE AT THE GREEN WOMBAT via FORTUNE.COM

Budweiser is going Solar

FAIRFIELD, Calif. -- More than 6 acres of ground-mounted photovoltaic solar arrays are now up and running at the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Fairfield, California.

The deployment marks the arrangement made last year between the beverage company and SunEdison, which financed, installed and operates the solar power system Anheuser-Busch agreed to host.

The system, which has a capacity of almost 1.2 MW, generates the equivalent of about 3 percent of the brewery's electricity needs. The company is considering whether to expand the solar installation and diversify the facility's on-site generation of renewable energy by putting in a wind turbine.

The solar deal was one of two major efficiency moves made by the brewery last year and part of a broader eco-friendly strategy adopted companywide by Anheuser-Busch.

The facility also installed a Bio-Energy Recovery System to generate more than 15 percent of the brewery's fuel needs by capturing the nutrients in brewing wastewater for conversion into biogas. Use of the renewable fuel enables the brewery to decrease its use of natural gas.

ARTICLE CONTINUES HERE AT GREENBUILDING.COM

World Energy Creates “Virtual Mall” for Carbon Offsets

World Energy Solutions has created a “virtual shopping mall” to put buyers of carbon offsets in control of their trading by allowing them to browse for the offset or compliance unit of their choice.

The Worcester, Mass.-based company’s flagship trading platform, the World Green Exchange, now combines new technology with industry partnerships to create a “virtual mall” for carbon shopping that addresses the need for more transparency in carbon commodities procurement, said the company.

World Energy says buyers have been limited by broker and “black box” procurement models. While brokers offer consultative selling, they have limited inventory and are not compensated to provide customers the best price, and black box systems simplify transactions but blur individual carbon project distinctions, which has led to the current “rip-offsets” phenomenon, where buyers invest in projects that don’t provide added environmental benefit, said the energy exchange.

ARTICLE CONTINUES HERE AT ENVIROMENTAL LEADER

SOLAR ARRAYS BECOME 4X MORE EFFICIENT - Northern California prepares for Solar power from space

Pacific Gas & Electric is going to great lengths--all the way to space--in its quest for renewable energy.

The California utility on Monday said that it will seek approval from regulators to purchase 200 megawatts worth of solar energy delivered from stealth space solar power company Solaren over 15 years.

(Credit: Space Energy)

The idea of space-based solar power (SBSP) is to place a device in space that can convert solar energy into a usable form and have it transmitted wirelessly to Earth. Scientists have thought to capture solar energy from space for decades but has it has never been done commercially.

Solaren proposes placing solar panels on a satellite to generate electricity that is converted to radio frequency energy on-board and sent to a ground station in California. The receiver then converts the radio frequency energy to electricity and it is fed into the power grid.

The goal of the project is to provide electricity to PG&E by 2016, said Solaren CEO Gary Spirnak in a Q and A posted on PG&E's company blog.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT CNET

Competetion for First Solar? Abound Solar opens first manufacturing plant

Colorado solar panel manufacturer Abound Solar Inc. opened its first, full-scale manufacturing plant Tuesday.

Abound Solar, started in 2007 as a spinoff from Colorado State University and formerly known as AVA Solar, expects to create more than 300 jobs at the new plant in Longmont. At capacity, the plant is expected to produce enough panels to generate about 200 megawatts of power per year.

The company makes “thin-film” photovoltaic panels and believes its proprietary manufacturing process will reduce production costs of its panels compared to other companies. Abound Solar said its process uses continuous, in-line, semiconductor equipment to convert sheets of glass to solar panels in less than two hours.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT DENVER BUSINESS JOURNAL