SolarSummary: February 4-10, 2003

by Kirsten Elder

Companies in the news

Bekaert/Energy Conversion devices

BP Solar

Global Solar Energy

Photowatt

Solar Century

Emerging Technologies

Researchers at Heriot-Watt University in the UK say they have achieved considerable success in developing solar cells on textile substrates. The researchers have been investigating the feasibility of depositing the layers that make up a typical solar cell onto woven and nonwoven textile substrates. The silicon is deposited from a gaseous compound using a variation of conventional thermal chemical vapour deposition (CVD), to produce nanocrystalline thin films. In contrast to other forms of silicon deposition, the temperature that the substrate needs to withstand is only 200 C, and perhaps even lower. Therefore, not only can textile fabrics made from glass fibre be considered as suitable substrates, but so too can more everyday fabrics such as polyester. (Technical Textiles International via CNN Money, 05/02/03)

The University of California in Santa Barbara are developing methods of producing PV cells, without the need of expensive, pure silicon. Rather than relying on the multi-tasking abilities that only pure silicon can provide, the university teams device uses a separate method to absorb light (using dye molecules lying on a gold film) thus allowing for the use of cheap semiconductors. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne are optimistic about the new design, despite a current conversion rate of less than 1 percent, but add that many people are searching for commercially viable alternatives to existing solar cell technology, so it’s too early to tell which will take off. (Nature News Service via Solarbuzz.com, 06/02/03)

New Products

BP Solar has announced that it will market to California homeowners a total solar energy solution that will reduce or eliminate monthly electricity bills, enhance energy independence, and help reduce CO2 emissions. The company believes it can deliver lower energy bills and give control to the homeowner through a customised and branded system with a long-term panel warranty. BP Solar will offer customers financing options, access to California Energy Commission rebates up to 50% of the purchase price, a full planning, installation and commissioning service, and an exclusive in-home display, enabling customers to track their system’s electricity production. (Solarbuzz.com, 04/02/03)

Applications

Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, UK an indoor sports training centre celebrated its opening last week. The centre hosts the largest solar roof in the country, designed and installed by Solar Century. The roof is expected to generate approximately 80,000 kWh of clean electricity every year which is estimated to provide all of the centres power needs. The project received a grant covering 65 percent of the solar costs from the Department of Trade and Industry. In addition the roof is sponsored by npower, who contributed 70,000 to its construction. The solar modules were supplied by Kaneka. (Solarbuzz.com, 07/02/03)

A Californian gas station is to install a 19 kW solar PV system. The system is expected to supply almost all of the gas station’s energy for canopy lighting and fuel pumps. Thanks to financing arranged through Prevalent Power – a renewable energy developer – the gas station’s total cost of energy will be significantly lower than if they bought the same amount of energy from the utility company. Prevalent Power secured approximately half of the project financing from the state of California through the CEC’s Emerging Renewable Buy-Down Program with an additional 25 percent of the system paid for through federal and state tax incentives. (SolarAccess.com, 10/02/03)

As part of a major new contract to upgrade the facilities at a California US Marine compound, a 1.1 MW solar photovoltaic array will be installed making it one of the highest capacity non-utility solar power plants in the world. The contract, valued at approximately US$51 million, is one of the largest single Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPC) ever awarded by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Contracts office, which administers ESPC for Navy and Marine Corps facilities. ESPCs allow federal government agencies to fund improvements from energy savings and energy-related operational savings using standard performance guarantees. (SolarAccess.com, 07/02/03)

Policy and Incentives

Solar energy activists in California are fighting a policy battle against a proposed order that would impose a 2 to 5 cent per kWh exit fee on all distributed generation, including solar, wind and other fossil fuel technologies such as diesel generators. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) is outraged by the proposed fee. “The decision suggests that the more clean energy you produce the more you get penalised for doing so – simply put it’s a tax on solar generation commented Glenn Hamer, SEIA’s executive director. The proposal would give utilities the right to install meters on privately owned solar energy and other power systems to measure the output and impose the exit fee on the kWh generated. Off-grid systems would not be affected. (SolarAccess.com, 07/02/03)

President Bushs proposed fiscal year 2004 federal budget has revealed increased spending for hydrogen technology research – a point he emphasised in his State of the Union Speech – while slashing funding for Solar Energy research by US$15 million to US$80 million. Scott Sklar, president of the Stella Group in Washington, D.C. and long time solar energy activist called the cut “typically shortsighted.” “The administration is saying we’re going to put everything into hydrogen and undercut everything else” Sklar said. “Hopefully, Congress is not going to go along with this.” (SolarAccess.com, 04/02/03)



Industry Reports and Events

In advance of the Energy White Paper, the UK Government has released a ground-breaking report that concludes it is feasible to replace fossil fuels with low-carbon technologies. Among the low carbon technologies, the report places heavy emphasis on renewable energy and hydrogen, rather than nuclear power. Of one key renewable technology, the Government report concludes: “solar energy alone could meet world energy demand by using less than 1 percent of land currently used for agriculture”. (Solarbuzz.com, 05/02/03)

Another report released in the UK however has stated that although the UK is likely to meet its target under the Kyoto Agreement, its improbable that the government will achieve its additional promise to reduce CO2 emissions to 20 percent below their 1990 levels by 2010. The commission says its analysis shows the UK “will fall well short” of this goal “unless further measures are taken”, but added, “this is not a reason to abandon the goal, but to redouble efforts to achieve it. There is still time to do so. The report, UK Climate Change Programme: A policy audit, produced by the Sustainable Development Commission, is a contribution to the government’s review of the programme promised for later in 2003. (BBC News online, 12/02/03)

An analysis prepared by the Australian Sustainable Energy Development Authority in New South Wales has targeted lower income households as the biggest consumers of solar PV. Most consumers of solar energy in Australia live in one- or two-person households, with an annual household income of less than Aus$30,000, according to the report. The analysis, Who Buys Solar Power Systems?’, also revealed that almost all (92 percent) reside in non-urban areas, with 45% employed as professionals and managers. For 25 percent of consumers who applied for SEDA’s BiPV rebate, the motivation for choosing solar was the high cost to connect to the grid, with 17% reporting no access to the grid or no alternative to solar. (Refocus Weekly, 05/02/03)

Corporate News

Bekaert and Energy Conversion Devices (ECD) have confirmed that they have started the process of searching for a third partner in order to strengthen the Uni-Solar base. Uni-Solar is a manufacturer of amorphous silicon solar cells based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. The company recently undertook a major cell production capacity increment to 30 MW, estimated at the time to cost $55 million. (Press release via Solarbuzz.com, 10/02/03)

Photowatt has announced an increase in production capacity to 25 MW per annum. 20 MW of that production will be manufactured in France, and 5 MWp will be produced by Matrix, USA. Matrix Solar Technologies, Photowatt sister company based in Albuquerque, will double its floor area in order to support the growing United States PV market. Photowatt has also recently announced new partnerships with marketing companies in Spain, Greece and Australia. (Solarbuzz.com, 04/02/03)

Global Solar Energy (GSE) has announced that it has recently signed a contract with Tucson Electric Power (TEP) to add more than 1 MW of photovoltaic modules this year to the company’s 2.4 MW solar array in eastern Arizona. The system, which is connected directly to TEP’s transmission line network, is helping TEP satisfy its commitment to provide a portion of its power from renewable resources. The expansion will utilize both crystalline-silicon and thin-film cadmium-telluride photovoltaic (PV) modules. (Solarbuzz.com, 10/02/03)

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