photovoltaics

Earth Day Review – Photovoltaic energy advances

By / April 22, 2010

Photovoltaic energy systems are getting cheaper and more powerful. Materials researchers are racing to understand energy generation and transfer at the nano and atomic levels. They are also working with…

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Caltech group demonstrates efficient 3D solar array

By / February 18, 2010

The idea of using fibers, wires or some other protruding structures to provide a three-dimensional surface for enhancing the energy-capturing capabilities of photovoltaic units seems to be catching on. The…

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Energy storage project to extend utility of solar power

By / February 10, 2010

International Battery, a Pennsylvania-based manufacturer and developer of large lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, announced that it is partnering with HNU Energy to assess the effectiveness of storing solar energy using Li-ion…

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The 2009 Solar Decathlon winner is…

By / October 21, 2009

Team Germany! Team Germany won first place in the 2009 Solar Decathlon by applying photovoltaics to every available surface. I had been rooting for Virginia Tech for their use of…

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National Renewable Energy Lab’s Center for Photovoltaics

By / October 15, 2009

The DOE’s National Renewable Energy Lab has produced this new video that provides an excellent overview of the labs past and present work, including multijunction PV cells, thin-film PVs, deposition process development, PV calibration and real-world outdoor testing.

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Cutting PV costs, Part 2: Process improvements vs. science breakthroughs

By / September 24, 2009

Yesterday we posted a Technology Review video interview with Emanuel Sachs (1366 Technologies’ chief technology officer and professor of mechanical engineering at MIT) in which he and Craig Lund (1366’s…

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Cutting PV costs, Part 1: New busbars, ‘fingers’ to cut costs by 20%?

By / September 23, 2009

Technology Review has a video (24 min.) of a recent interview with Emanuel Sachs, 1366 Technologies’ chief technology officer and professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. He explains the physics…

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Ohio offering $27M for nascent advanced energy projects

By / August 6, 2009

Via the state-run Third Frontier technology development program, the Ohio Department of Development has announced that it is seeking $27 million worth of “requests for proposals” for its 2010 fiscal…

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Top 25 institutions ranked for alternative energy research

By / July 3, 2009

Elsevier, publisher of scientific, technical and medical information, announced the results of its SciVal Spotlight Alternative Energy Research Leadership study. Analyzing the work of 3,000 research institutions world-wide, the study…

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U.S. installed solar capacity up 16%

By / April 6, 2009

A new solar industry organization publication reports that total solar capacity (electric power plus water, pool and space heating) in the United States grew by 1,265 megawatts in 2008, an…

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