Solar power grows exponentially. Every two years we have twice as much solar energy in the world (Kurzweil).

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Oil and nuclear have reached their peak and solar has become an accepted source of energy.


14 Feb 2012 - Polymer solar cells
In the effort to convert sunlight into electricity, photovoltaic solar cells that use conductive organic polymers for light absorption and conversion have shown great potential. Organic polymers can be produced in high volumes at low cost, resulting in photovoltaic devices that are cheap, lightweight and flexible.
Source: PhysOrg. Tandem polymer solar cells that set record for energy-conversion

10 Feb 2012 - ERG Project
A three-year European research project aims to push solar-cell efficiency towards 25 percent and reduce power conversion losses by 20 percent. European researchers will focus on the design and development of innovative solar cells that includes printable dye-sensitized solar cells as a low-cost alternative to silicon solutions.
Source: Nicolas Mokhoff - EETimes.
1] European research project to boost solar cell efficiency
2] ERG - Home

10 Feb 2012 - Crescent Dunes solar energy plant
SolarReserve, a U.S. developer of large-scale solar power projects, today announced completion of the 540-foot solar power tower for its 110 megawatt (MW) Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Plant located near Tonopah, Nev.
Source: SolarReserve, via Yahoo! News.
1] SolarReserve Reaches Major Construction Milestone in Completing Tower for World's Largest Molten Salt Solar Tower Plant
2] SolarReserve - Crescent Dunes

04 Feb 2012 - Besneeuwde zonnepanelen
Sneeuw houdt alle licht tegen en de slechtst presterende panelen bepalen de opbrengst van alle panelen samen als ze in serie geschakeld zijn. Alle panelen moeten dus schoongemaakt worden voor een maximaal rendement.
Bron: Vincent Dekker - Trouw.
1] Sneeuw is als een spiegel voor de zon(nepanelen)
2] Sneeuw houdt álle zonnestroom tegen

01 Feb 2012 - Zonnepanelen van E.ON
E.ON gaat zonnepanelen verkopen aan particulieren. Een zonnestroom installatie bestaat uit zonnepanelen en bevestigingsmateriaal voor op het dak, een omvormer en de verbinding met het elektriciteitsnetwerk.
1] E.ON - Home (NL)
2] E.ON zonnepanelen

27 Jan 2012 - 2012 Solar Decathlon Europe
Solar Decathlon is an award-winning program that challenges collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive.
Source: Solar Decathlon Europe.
1] Solar Decathlon Europe - Home
2] Italy/France's 100 percent solar home entry for the 2012 Solar Decathlon

27 Jan 2012 - Renewable energy grid parity
Some of the largest countries on Earth made it clear this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that, in many cases, renewable energy is just a few years away from reaching grid parity with fossil fuels without subsidies.
Source: Brit Liggett - Inhabitat.
Clean Energy Executives Say Grid Parity Without Subsidies Could Be Just 3 Years Away

25 Jan 2012 - UK government loses solar subsidy court battle
The government has lost its battle to abruptly cut solar panel subsidies. The decision by the Court of Appeal means that the government’s premature cuts to Feed in Tariffs - which give owners of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels a fee for the amount of energy they produce - has now been overturned.
Source: Matthew Finnegan - TechEYE.
1] UK government loses solar subsidy court battle
2] Government loses second case on solar tariff cut

19 Jan 2012 - Solar panels as standard feature
KB Homes expects to be the first production builder in Florida to include solar-energy panels as a standard feature on new houses in select communities.
Source: Mary Shanklin - Orlando Sentinel.
Home builder makes solar power standard in Apopka

18 Jan 2012 - The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Off-the-Grid Solar
Having a diesel rumbling in the background is not the Maine woods experience I wanted. Too noisy. Too smelly. Too OPEC. What about solar, I thought? It seems to work great on my pocket calculator and all those highway construction signs. Here was my chance to try solar without my wife’s objecting to the expense.
Source: Craig Leisher - The New York Times.
The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Off-the-Grid Solar

12 Jan 2012 - U.K. Solar-Capacity Surge
Britain’s solar capacity shot up 10-fold last year, defying Energy Secretary Chris Huhne’s effort to roll back subsidies for the industry and prevent the sort of booms experienced in Germany and Italy.
Source: Marc Roca - Bloomberg.
U.K. Solar-Capacity Surge Defies Huhne’s Plan to Curb Subsidies

10 Jan 2012 - Atomic stress tests
Stress tests being carried out on European nuclear power plants are a political charade designed to reassure the public that the reactors are fundamentally safe, a member of the European Parliament and a prominent Bulgarian atomic expert said Monday at a seminar in Osaka.
Source: Eric Johnston - The Japan Times.
Europe atomic stress tests a charade

03 Jan 2012 - France’s 58 nuclear reactors
France must invest billions of euros to improve the safety systems of its nuclear facilities so they can withstand the kind of extreme shocks that triggered in Fukushima the worst nuclear accident in 25 years, the nuclear watchdog ASN said on Tuesday.
Source: Reuters, via Dawn
French nuclear plants told to prepare for disasters

29 Dec 2011 - Germany has 370k jobs in the renewable sector
In June, Germany passed the 20 percent mark for drawing electric power from a mix of wind, solar and other renewables. That compares with about 9 percent in the United States or Japan.
Source: AP via Yahoo! News.
All eyes on German renewable energy efforts

28 Dec 2011 - Mexico could see more solar
The Mexican government is apparently looking to quantify how much solar energy the country could produce and, presumably, whether it should pass policies to encourage solar energy production.
Source: Ucilia Wang - Forbes.
1] Latin America Flirts With Solar Power Development
2] Solar power to boost Chilean agriculture

28 Dec 2011 - India’s solar boom
Two years ago, India said it would drastically increase its use of solar power by 2020. Many analysts said it couldn’t be done. Now they aren’t so sure.
Source: Vikas Bajaj - The new York Times.
1] In Solar Power, India Begins Living Up to Its Own Ambitions
2] Lanterns Are a Ready Example of Solar Power’s Potential

28 Dec 2011 - Japan looks to the sun
While Japanese politicians wrangle with quake clean-up, nuclear safety concerns and climbing greenhouse emissions, Japanese technology executives are climbing aboard the 'green energy' wagon. For a nation first ruined and then reinvigorated by 67 years of atomic-age technological development, the new political and commercial will for Japan to rid its countryside of nuclear reactors has been relatively swift.
Source: William Mace - The Timaru Herald.
Japan looks to the sun after nuclear crisis

27 Dec 2011 - Nederland krijgt geen tweede Borssele
In de nabije toekomst zullen zonne-energie en windenergie alleen maar goedkoper worden, terwijl de kostprijs van aardgas, kolen en atoomstroom verder zullen stijgen. Kernenergie is eenvoudigweg niet bestand tegen de markt.
Bron: Jos van der Schot - Trouw.
Logisch dat er geen tweede Borssele komt

26 Dec 2011 - Solar system that heats home through air circulation
A duct system equipped with a small fan draws air from inside the home and funnels it up to a solar collector on the roof. The air flows through the collector, passing between a black-painted aluminum sheet and a special thermal glass, and is warmed by the sun. Then the air is blown by the system back into the house. Dampers control the air flow and a thermostat controls the temperature.
Source: Staci Matlock - The New Mexican.
Solar system that heats home through air circulation doesn't qualify for tax credits

22 Dec 2011 - BP exiting the solar power business
BP has finally announced that it is exiting the solar power business. This is excellent news for the company itself and also good news for the solar power industry itself.
Source: Tim Worstall - Forbes.
BP Finally Exits Solar Power Business: Excellent News

12 Dec 2011 - Cost of solar installations chart
A chart tracking the all-in cost of solar installations from 2006 until today.
Source: Alexis Madrigal - The Atlantic.
The Falling Cost of US Solar Installations

09 Dec 2011 - Britain plans to reduce feed in tariffs (update Dec 21, 2011)
The British government is under threat from the European Commission about its plans to cut Feed In Tariffs for photovoltaic panels by 50 percent.
Source: Tamlin Magee - TechEYE.
1] EU bullies Britain on solar subsidy reduction
2] Solar Panel Plans 'Legally Flawed'

07 Dec 2011 - Solar power much cheaper
Many analysts project a higher cost for solar photovoltaic energy because they don't consider recent technological advancements and price reductions. Older models for determining solar photovoltaic energy costs are too conservative.
Source: ScienceDaily.
Solar Power Much Cheaper to Produce Than Most Analysts Realize, Study Finds