Suntech Gets Certified To Sell Solar Panels In The UK (MCS)

Suntech just announced that its solar panels have been certified to meet the requirements of the UK Microgeneration Certification Scheme. MCS Certification means that Suntech’s panels meet or exceed all applicable safety and performance standards and can be sold in the UK.
In a press release, Jerry Stokes, Suntech’s Vice President of Strategy and Business Development in Europe, commented on the news:
“”We see the UK as a strategically important market and had no hesitation in engaging BBA to assess our modules for the MCS certification. With a high degree of home ownership and a positive feed-in-tariff legislation, which offers secure returns, we are confident that the UK market offers great potential.”

why should a solar panel be square?

Here is a press release from the guys who gave us Leaf shaped solar panel

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - May 27, 2010) -  After the release of the Leaf shaped solar panel, this week Greendix announces the release of 5 more solar panels with different shapes, including circular, quarter, oval, heart and pentagon shaped. We hope that these different shapes can help designers and users think outside the box and not be limited to the conventional square shaped solar panels. Greendix's President, Mr. Joseph, would like to invite everyone to use their imaginations and apply these designs into building a greener future. Everyone should be their own best designer.
Production of these 5 shapes is expected by Q3 of 2010.

Wind or Solar? You don't need to choose anymore...

Portable Solar Wind Turbine Keeps You Charged on the Go

How about this for an all-purpose gadget? Cheng Peng has designed a portable wind turbine with solar panels on its blades. The device is capable of generating enough energy to power your cell phone or GPS, or it can power its own built-in LED light. It’s called Mobile Energy, and it measures just half a meter long when folded down, making it portable enough to carry with you on backpacking or cycling trips.



If the turbine’s base is really stable enough to hold this thing up when the wind is blowing, who could argue with the genius of this creation? You could take it with you everywhere and never plug in a charger again. And, let’s face it, you’d always have the coolest campsite around.

Why not install solar shingles?

For the past decade the popularity and efficiency of solar energy has been growing rapidly worldwide. Most people have seen solar panels going up on houses and businesses in their community. This usually takes form as an array of large silver rectangular panels spread out across the roof or other free standing structure such as a parking cover, or sometimes directly into the car itself. Vanity almost always takes second to functionality. A few companies such as SunPower have created all black solar panels but this doesn't change the clunky look of the panels themselves. Fortunately, recent breakthroughs in thin film design have lead to a more integrated approach called solar shingles.
Solar shingles, or photovoltaic shingles, were first released in 2005. Much like the larger solar panels we are used to, solar shingles capture sunlight and transform it into useable energy. Unlike the larger solar panel discussed above, they are typically 12 inches wide and 86 inches long and can be stapled directly to the roofing cloth just like normal shingles. Once installed, they give the roof a purplish blue tint but otherwise look much like regular tar and sand shingles.
Electricity is generated through solar shingles when the sun strikes a semiconductor layer, which is typically made from crystalline silicon, laminated to the shingle's surface. According to an article on Thisoldhouse.com, a single solar shingle produces about 50-200 watts of energy, which is enough energy to power a wall fan. This isn't bad for one tiny shingle but just think how much you could do with a whole roof of them? One of the big challenges with solar panels is determining how many to install, they don't usually come in smaller sizes so many customers end up with too much or just under what they could really use. The smaller dimensions of shingles eliminate this issue.
According to an article on solar shingles on Hubpages.com, solar shingles on your roof can create energy for your household for up to forty years! What's amazing about this is that most people replace the shingles at least once within this kind of time frame so you could actually cut down on the maintenance costs of your house in addition to the boost in sustainability. The biggest payoff with any solar technology is the savings in transporting energy to the location of use. With traditional coal or nuclear energy power is lost as it is transferred along lines all over the city. Micro power or localized solar solves this.
Just like regular solar panels, energy generated from solar shingles is stored either locally in a battery or passed through to the grid using net metering. During the night when users need energy the grid pumps it out but during the day they feed energy in which is shared all over the community, including corporations and businesses where the house owner may work.
Wikipedia states that, "Backup storage, in the form of batteries, is expensive, adds complexity to the installation, and is uneconomic in any large scale. Battery backup units require an array of additional hardware. This includes batteries, battery enclosures, battery charge controllers, and separate sub panels for critical load circuits. However, grid power is only useful as a backup system if it is available when solar power is not." If you live far away from an established grid, don't have access an electric company that offers net metering or are building a completely new sub division however, the battery storage option may begin to make sense.
Are solar shingles expensive? Well, compared to traditional solar panels, the answer is no. One author on Hubpages.com claims that not only will you be reducing your monthly energy bill, you will be increasing the overall value of your house by as much as 4%. With the price of energy and building uncertain going forwards, locking in your rates by tethering the energy of the sun might be a wise decision and reflect this increase in property value. While your neighbors are all suffering through brown outs and outages you may doing just fine.
In addition, Hubpages.com states that installing solar shingles "gives you back a price premium of about 10%, which is an increased value of your property, after making it energy efficient and renewable." So, depending on your situation as a home owner this return could represent a 6% increase in value at day one with ongoing benefits, minus the cost of interest if you take out a loan.
While older models of solar shingles were a bit more expensive because they were a new technology, new models such as shingles made with thin-film copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) cells are far more affordable and can be installed in as little as 10 hours instead of the 22 to 30 hours it takes to install large solar panels.
So who makes solar shingles? Companies that currently manufacture solar shingles include SunPower Corporation, Solar Components Corporation, Atlantis Energy Systems, and Dow Chemical. In addition, large homebuilders in California are partnering with companies like SunPower to offer homes that have solar systems already installed. This is a wonderful thing to see because the costs of rewiring and reinforcing a roof for solar can take up as much as 50% of the overall cost and regularly becomes a deciding factor for families considering renewable energy. Even homes that come "solar ready" but do not have solar panels or shingles installed are worth more than the status quo.

National Bank of Arizona to Install Solar System at Tucson Headquarters (May 17, 2010)

Tucson, AZ, USA: National Bank of Arizona to Install Solar System at Tucson Headquarters

National Bank of Arizona is to install a $2 million solar system on its Tucson headquarters this summer constructed by Natural Power and Energy. At 402.6 kilowatts, the project is the second largest corporate install in Tucson.

The 24,000-square-foot installation of 1,320 panels will be placed on three structures located on the rooftop of its parking garage at the NBAZ Wilmot Road and Carondelet offices. The system will reduce electricity costs of the two buildings by about 25 percent and will produce at least 580,000 kilowatt hours annually within the buildings that total 128,824 square-feet.

"This is both an economically and environmentally sound decision," said David Lyons, executive vice president of National Bank of Arizona. "We feel it's important to continue to expand our solar initiatives throughout the state and with Tucson being our founding city, we are excited to lead the way with one of the largest commercial solar systems."

"At Natural Power and Energy we are extremely proud to have been chosen to work on this special project for National Bank of Arizona," said Rob Dallal, CEO of Natural Power and Energy. "As a financier of solar installations in both the commercial and residential sectors, and now the prospective owner of a second of its own solar systems, in our opinion the bank has become the leading proponent of solar energy in the state."

National Bank of Arizona has made significant ongoing solar investments in the last few years including installing one of the state's largest commercial solar systems on its Phoenix headquarters back in May 2009 and spearheading Solar Phoenix, the nation's largest residential solar leasing program, by making the program possible with $25 million in financing.

In October 2009, National Bank of Arizona also partnered with various organizations to create one of the nation's largest distributed, community-wide solar power systems at Soaring Heights Communities at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson. Upon completion, the community is expected to be the largest solar-powered community in the continental U.S.

Further details about: Natural Power and Energy

Window doubles as solar panel

New technology from Pythagoras Solar has resulted in the development of what the company is calling the industry’s “first energy efficient, transparent and high power-density photovoltaic glass unit. The new product could show up in curtain walls (like the one shown below), skylights or windows by the second half of 2010.

The company has signed deals with manufacturers including Arkema, China Sunergy and Flextronics in order to get the new technology to market as quickly as possible.
Gonen Fink, co-founder and CEO of Phythagoras Sola, says the new material should help construction companies bridge the gap between materials that are energy efficient and aesthetically appealing. The material combines insulating qualities, shading and lighting benefits AND, as implied, solar generation features. So, it both blocks the sun to keep it cool inside and captures sunlight to create solar energy. The video below talks about how the technology works:

HP and PowerFilm working on futuristic solar powered ‘Dick Tracy’ watch

Hewlett-Packard is working on a wristwatch phone that gets power from the sun. I know your next question: why did it take this long?  This new gizmo is strictly for the U.S. millitary, and that prototype won’t be ready for another year, according to the Palo Alto printing and computer company. “We call it a Dick Tracy watch,” said Carl Taussig, director of information surfaces at HP Labs to CNN  in reference to the comic book hero’s high-tech wristwatch communicator.

The breakthrough is credited to a thin strip of metal-coated plastic that’s only 50 microns thick — about half the width of a human hair.   The plastic screen is lighter, less prone to damage, and, according to Taussig, uses 40 times less raw material than glass displays.  The power requirement is so modest it can be satisfied with a flexible solar panel printed right onto the watch or any other portable gadget you may desire. These are supplied by PowerFilm, developers of the military’s solar power tents.  The screen’s potential flexibility opens up new display capabilities for soldiers in the field requiring securely transmitted strategic visuals. The solar power makes them more reliable, a big plus in a life threatening scenario.

But the big win is they are less dependent on supplying their own power. Not having to carry a mobile phone, with that cumbersome battery; who knows what kind of warfighting innovations will follow. No more armored vehicles? Heavy transport planes? Soldiers who can fly on their own impetus? Only time will tell.
Big changes are in store. A display like this can function on a memory stick, or as a smart price tag, or anything!  Myself, for one,  can’t wait until a civilian version hits the market.

China Building “Biggest Solar Energy Production Base” in the World

Construction is in the works for what China is calling “The Biggest Solar Energy Production Base in the Whole World,” or more simply, Solar Valley. The base will be a clean energy technology hub that China hopes will rival Silicon Valley in California. The ambitious plans for the park were launched by Himin Solar Energy, whose headquarters is located at the Sun-Moon Mansion, which is currently the largest solar powered office building in the world. The planned development outside of Dezhou, China is expected to cost $740 million and accommodate 100 tenants.

Himin Solar Energy, started by Huang Ming, the ‘Sun King’ of China, is already the main tenant of Solar Valley and their large office building is completely powered by the sun. He has very ambitious goals about making Solar Valley a reality, and has already attracted about 100 companies, and spawned factories as well as a research center. The hope is that this clean energy epicenter will help propel China’s development of renewable energy technology and installation.
Solar Valley is located just outside of Dezhou, which is making some progress towards in building its reputation as a clean energy city. The city already requires that all new buildings be equipped with solar water heaters of the type made by Huang’s company, and last year they spent $10 million to install solar lighting along miles of road. Chiel Boonstra, a Dutch architect who heads up the International Solar Cities Congress, says that Dezhou “will be a new center of gravity for renewable technologies.” It’s just a shame that rural farmers are being relocated into block apartments in the city to make way for the grand new development.

MIT Researchers Print a Solar Cell on Paper

We love the idea of clean and green fuel. But they come with certain disadvantages. First one is they are heavy on pocket of a commoner. Second disadvantage is their power conversion rate is quite low. Last one is you need storage space to save all the power converted by a clean and green technology. Now MIT researchers are coming out of solar cells printed on paper. Though the technology still has to wait for years before it can be converted into a commercially viable entity but it’s an interesting development
Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have effectively coated paper with a solar cell. It is a part of a suite of research projects aimed at energy breakthroughs.
Susan Hockfield, MIT’s president, and Paolo Scaroni, CEO of Italian oil company Eni, formally dedicated the Eni-MIT Solar Frontiers Research Center. Eni financed the research project by investing $5 million into the center. This project is also financed by National Science Foundation. They are granting a fund of $2 million.
The MIT people took inspiration from the inkjet printer. They molded the solar paper panels on the similar lines. They used organic semi conductor material. The technique will be quite helpful in lowering the weight of solar panels. “If you could use a staple gun to install a solar panel, there could be a lot of value,” Vladimir Bulovic, director of the National Science Foundation, said.
MIT researchers utilized carbon-based dyes. The efficiency of paper based solar cells is not great, at around 1.5% to 2%. But Vladimir Bulovic says that one can use any material if it can be deposited at room temperature. He further says, “Absolutely, the trick was coming up with ways to use paper,” he said.
Prof. Karen Gleason is the head of the MIT research team. She has submitted a paper for scientific review but it has yet to be published. MIT and Eni have confirmed that this is the first time a solar cell has been printed on paper.
During the press conference, Paolo Scaroni said that Eni is funding the center because the company understands that hydrocarbons will eventually run out and believes that solar can be a replacement, although the currently available technology isn’t sufficient enough.
Paolo Scaroni said, “We are not very active (in alternative energy) today because we don’t believe today’s technologies are the answer of our problems.”
 And as allways, dont forget to visit our sister website thousand suns ...

Competitive Inspection For Solar Panel Production

Gorosabel in Spain needed a solution to inspect its fragile solar cell panels. The company needed a powerful vision solution that could handle high-speed production while performing different inspection tasks while ensuring that the delicate product remained intact. In-Sight vision systems from Cognex are now performing the inspection task ensuring zero fault production.

Gorosabel S.A. was created in 1957 and, with its extensive experience in machine tool automation, set up the Gorosabel Solar Energy division for renewable energy applications at the end of the 1990s. Their expanded product range now includes measuring instruments, integrated solutions for photovoltaic and thermal module production chains, installation engineering, and handling solutions and production accessories.

With over 50 professionals and 3,500 m² of facilities at its disposal, the company has extensive experience plus the ability to develop and respond to new technologies.

The Challenge — Cell Alignment

The company ran up against a particular difficulty, in that solar cells are fragile and hard to position mechanically. The wide variety of cells makes this positioning even more complicated.

Solar cell production is relatively expensive and, given the high level of automation and large volumes involved, quality is a decisive factor in obtaining a competitive advantage. Consistently positive results when implementing machine vision systems in the past encouraged further adoption when faced with the alignment challenge.

In addition to centering the solar cell properly, the new system could also perform defect checks, such as inspecting for broken edges or cracks, verifying dimensions, further positioning in relation to the edges, etc.

The best vision system for the task

Gorosabel consulted with Ikusmen, a Cognex partner systems integrator in northern Spain, and found a suitable solution using Cognex In-Sight vision systems.

To solve the problem, the Cognex In-Sight camera is positioned in order to inform the robot of the cell position and to inspect its condition once in the field of view.

The camera calculates the cell’s position and orientation and transmits the data to a robot, which then positions it correctly by the rear weld-on TAB. Moreover, if it detects any defects, it notifies the robot so that it can reject the cell.

“In the end, we were able to find the perfect solution to the problem. Problems when detecting breakage on the solar panel have been reduced practically to zero. Ultimately, this convinced the process managers and the Gorosabel automation engineers to invest in this technology,” confirms Tubal Etxaburu of Ikusmen.

“The Cognex In-Sight system’s technical capacities (such as the Ethernet port, real-time remote operation, fast processing, and In-Sight Explorer software) were fundamental to solving the problems we were confronted with. The software is easy to use and has an optimum adjustment range. At the end of the day, the price was not what mattered most, but rather the quality and expert advice,” he continues.

Motivated by their success with the Cognex In-Sight 5000 series, the engineers at Gorosabel will place their trust in the quality of Cognex for other production lines in the future.

For more information visit www.cognex.com

Greendix Announces the World's First Leaf-Shaped Crystalline Silicon Solar Panel

Breakthrough Technology Allows the Production of Multiple Different Shapes of Solar Panels

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - May 19, 2010) -  Greendix, a fast-rising supplier of custom solar panels, has developed the world's first leaf-shaped PV crystalline silicon solar panel in the world via new proprietary technology. Sonelis Technologies will handle supply and distribution in the Americas (N. and S. America) for this new exciting product line.
Greendix's breakthrough new patented technology allows the manufacturing of custom shaped crystalline silicon solar panels. Greendix solar panels are also available in a variety of colors, so designers are no longer restricted by the usual rectangular shapes and dark colors. Greendix's new patented process offers designers unlimited new ways to integrate solar technology into their projects. This leaf-shaped solar panel is the first of many products showcasing this new technology.
Joseph Lin, President of Greendix commented, "One of the goals of my team was to take an existing technology, like solar panels, and revolutionize it so that it can seamlessly merge with our surroundings. Thus, we have developed the world's first leaf-shaped crystalline silicon solar panel. Our vision is that one day, 'solar forests' will be built using our solar leaves in places where real trees are not able to grow or survive."
Michael Yu, Director of Technology at Sonelis Technologies added, "We are excited to have partnered with Greendix to handle their business in the Americas. This new technique will take the solar panel industry to the next level. This technology really opens the door to integrate solar technology seamlessly into our daily life. We feel that the potential of this product is unlimited."
Greendix's solar tree concept not only provides aesthetic advantages, but also serves as a viable alternative to traditional solar panels in the generation of electricity from the sun. The company also plans to develop several new custom shaped solar panels in the near feature to showcase the potential of this new market.
About Greendix:
Greendix, a Taiwan-based company, is a leader in the design and supply of custom solar panels for the OEM/ODM market. Greendix designs and manufactures advanced custom shaped and colored solar panels with their innovative proprietary and patented cutting process. Additional information about the company is available on the web at www.Greendix.com.
About Sonelis Technologies:
Sonelis Technologies is based in Los Angeles, CA and specializes in the design and distribution of custom solar solutions.
Additional information about the company is available on the web at www.Sonelis.com.

Japan's solar module shipments double in 2009/2010

TOKYO, May 18 (Reuters) - Solar cell modules shipped in Japan more than doubled last year, an industry data showed, underlining Tokyo's recent drive to shift away from fuel imports to prop up the economy and cut greenhouse gasses.

The shipments include those of solar cell modules made in Japan and those made by foreign makers and imported into Japan, with the share of the latter growing rapidly in the world's third-largest market for solar energy.
In the Japanese financial year to March 2010, the shipments rose to 623.13 megawatts (MW) from 236.79 MW a year earlier and exceeded the previous record in 2005/2006 of 305.07 MW, the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association's data showed on Tuesday.
Behind the jump in shipments is a scheme the Japanese government introduced in November 2009 to make utilities buy surplus solar-power electricity that households produce at a higher rate. [ID:nT5219]
The government is now considering ways to make the unique "feed-in tariff" scheme into a full-fledged one, effective in November this year.
In January, 2009, Japan resumed subsidies to house owners who put solar panels on their roofs as one of the economic stimulus measures.
Demand for solar panels had dried up after the government pulled the plug on subsidies in March 2006, resulting in a shift to exports by Japanese makers, such as Sharp Corp  and Kyocera Corp .
Exports of solar cell modules rose to 1,045.40 MW in 2009/2010, up 18 percent from a year earlier and almost double from 578.69 MW in 2005/2006, according to Tuesday's data.

Upcoming Conferences and events 2010

Here is the list of Conferences and event for 2010

Solar 2010	Phoenix, United States	17 - 22 May 2010	Tel: 1 303 443 3130 Fax: 1 303 443 3212 E Mail: ases@ases.org URL: www.ases.org
2010 International Renewable Energy Fair	Poznan, Poland	18 - 20 May 2010	Tel: 48 618692-552 Fax: 48 618692-952 E Mail: poleko@mtp.pl URL: greenpower.mtp.pl/en
Exhibition: Semicon Singapore 2010	Singapore	19 - 21 May 2010	Tel: 1 408 94379-87 Fax: 1 408 94379-15 E Mail: dtracy@semi.org URL: www.semiconsingapore.org
4th Renexpo Central Europe 2009	Budapest, Hungary	27 - 29 May 2010	Tel: 49/7121/3016-0 Fax: 49/7121/3016-200 E Mail: international@energie-server.de URL: www.renexpo-budapest.com
3rd POWER Sri Lanka 2010	Colombo, Sri Lanka	3 - 5 June 2010	Tel: 1 347 5435543 Fax: 1 347 2422657 E Mail: cems@cemsonline.com URL: www.powersrilanka.com
Solar Taiwan 2010	Taipei, Taiwan	9 - 11 June 2010	Tel: 886 2 2396 7780 Fax: 886 2 2396 7805 E Mail: pamela@mail.pida.org.tw URL: www.optotaiwan.com
Intersolar	Munich, Germany	9 - 11 June 2010	Tel: 49 7231 58598-0 Fax: 49 7231 58598-28 E Mail: info@intersolar.de URL: www.intersolar.de
Renewable Energy Exhibition 2010	Paris, France	16 - 18 June 2010	Tel: 33 4 722232-60 Fax: 33 4 722232-58 E Mail: cguillem@sepelcom.com URL: www.energie-ren.com
35th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference	Honolulu, Hawaii, USA	20 - 25 June 2010	Tel: 1 908 981 0060 Fax: 1 908 981 9667 E Mail: corporate-communications@ieee.org URL: www.ieee.org
Conference: 7th Annual Renewable Energy Finance Forum - Wall Street	New York, USA	29 - 30 June 2010	Tel: 1 202 429 20304 Fax: 1 202 429 5532 E Mail: weirich@acore.org URL: www.acore.org
PV Japan 2010	Yokohama, Japan	30 June 2010 - 2 July 2010	Tel: 81 3 3222575-5 Fax: 81 3 3222575-7 E Mail: jshowsinfo@semi.org URL: www.semi.org/PVJAPAN-EN/index.htm
Intersolar North America	San Francisco, California, United States	13 - 15 July 2010	Tel: 49 7231 585982-2 Fax: 49 7231 585982-8 E Mail: doeppe@intersolar.us URL: www.intersolar.us
Exhibition: Indo Renergy 2010	Jakarta, Indonesia	28 - 30 July 2010	Tel: 62 21 865096-2 Fax: 62 21 865096-3 E Mail: info@indorenergy.com URL: www.indorenergy.com
Soltec	Hameln, Germany	2 - 5 September 2010	Tel: 49 571 2 9150 Fax: 49 571 2 0270 E Mail: kontakt@rainer-timpe.de URL: www.rainer-timpe.de
25th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference	Valencia, Spain	6 - 10 September 2010	Tel: 49 89 720 12 735 Fax: 49 89 720 12 791 E Mail: pv.conference@wip-munich.de URL: www.wip-munich.de
PV Rome Mediterranean	Rome, Italy	9 - 11 September 2010	Tel: 39 02 6630 6866 Fax: 390 2 6630 5510 E Mail: info@zeroemission.eu URL: www.zeroemission.eu
4th International Solar Cities Initiative (ISCI) Congress 2010	Dezhou, China	16 - 19 September 2010	Tel: 86 534 22396-29 Fax: 86 534 22396-17 E Mail: jwsjk@sina.com URL: www.chinasolarcity.cn
12th Renewable Energy Finance Forum - London	London, UK	20 - 21 September 2010	Tel: 44 207 779 8995 Fax: 44 207 779 8946 E Mail: energyevents@euromoneyplc.com URL: www.euromoneyenergy.com
World Renewable Energy Congress XI & Exhibition	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	25 - 30 September 2010	Tel: 44 1273 625643 Fax: 44 1273 625768 E Mail: asayigh@netcomuk.co.uk URL: www.wrenuk.co.uk/wrecxi.html
Conference: 3rd Renewable Energy Finance Forum West	San Francisco, California, USA	28 - 29 September 2010	Tel: 44 207 779 8995 Fax: 44 207 779 8946 E Mail: energyevents@euromoneyplc.com URL: www.euromoneyenergy.com
Solar Power 2010	Los Angeles, California, USA	12 - 14 October 2010	Tel: 1 202 857 0898 Fax: 1 202 682 0559 E Mail: info@solarelectricpower.org URL: www.solarelectricpower.org
4th POWER Bangladesh 2010	Dhaka, Bangladesh	14 - 16 October 2010	Tel: 1 347 543 5543 Fax: 1 347 242 2657 E Mail: cems@cemsonline.com URL: pv-expo.net
Solar Industry Conference (CIS-ES)	Madrid, Spain	21 - 22 October 2010	Tel: 49 30 72629630-0 Fax: 49 30 72629630-9 E Mail: info@solarpraxis.de URL: www.solarpraxis.de
Conference & Exhibition: PV Taiwan 2010	Taipei, Taiwan	26 - 28 October 2010	Tel: 886 2 2725 5200 Fax: 886 2 2725 7324 E Mail: pv@taitra.org.tw URL: www.pvtaiwan.com
Energytech Exhibition & Conference	Tel-Aviv, Israel	27 - 28 October 2010	Tel: 972 8 622 9300 Fax: 972 8 627 9637 E Mail: http://energytech.co.il/pages/contact-us.php URL: www.energytech.co.il/
Conference & Exhibition: DIREC 2010	Delhi, India	27 - 29 October 2010	Tel: 91 11 427950-54 Fax: 91 11 427950-98 E Mail: rkhattar@exhibitionsindia.com URL: www.exhibitionsindiagroup.com
PVTech	Milan, Italy	17 - 19 November 2010	Tel: 39 02 66 306866 Fax: 39 02 66 305510 E Mail: info@zeroemission.eu URL: www.hitechexpo.eu

Cornwall's 'Silicon Vineyards' aim to triple solar capacity in UK

The Cornish plan aims to emulate solar farms such as those found in dry and sunny climates such as New Mexico. Photograph: Corbis

Cornwall's reputation for sun, sand and surf could soon be challenged by silicon if a proposed £40m network of solar farms gets the go ahead.

Next week, public consultation will begin for a 15-acre "energy farm" on a green-field site at St Kew, three miles east of Wadebridge, the market town which acts as the gateway to north Cornwall's popular tourist heartlands. A local farmer has raised £4.5m of private investment to construct the first of what could be 10 similar sites across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, which, if all built, would triple the UK's current solar generating capacity.

But such investment doesn't automatically guarantee a hi-tech approach: the solar panels will be tilted towards the sun each day by hand and a roaming gaggle of geese will be used to keep the surrounding grass at a manageable length.

A consortium of local companies calling itself "Silicon Vineyards" says the proposed 2MW facility at Benbole Farm – which would be the first utility-scale solar farm in the UK - would generate enough electricity to power 600 homes. It will also grow biomass crops and house an anaerobic digester as an alternative source of power generation. The consortium, which includes the commercial arm of the University of Exeter and a Penzance-based renewables specialist called Renewable Energy Cooperative (R-ECO), says construction could begin in October if planning is approved. The solar farm could start generating electricity commercially by April 2011.

The new coalition government has pledged to "seek to increase the target for renewable energy subject to the advice of the Climate Change Committee". In 2008, 2.25% of energy was produced from renewable sources in the UK, according the Department of Energy and Climate Change. The previous government had set a target of producing 15% of energy from renewables by 2020.

The Benhole Farm business plan estimates that by utilising the recently introduced feed-in tariff which pays generators on this scale 29.3p/kWh, the farm have an annual turnover of £700,000 within seven years. By year 25, the business plan says the farm will have generated a total revenue of £13m. The consortium says it is now speaking to the National Union of Farmers in the hope it will urge its members to consider this technology as a lucrative source of income.

Solar farms are increasingly popular in dry and sunny regions in the US and southern Spain, but the consortium is confident that rain-blessed Cornwall is the logical next frontier for solar technology. "The panels will still be generating, albeit reduced, when there is cloud cover," said Abraham Cambridge, R-ECO's technical and commercial manager. "The optimum months will be May, June, September and October, which are Cornwall's best months for sun."

To reduce costs, R-ECO says it is cheaper to employ five staff to manually adjust the panels so they face towards the sun as it moves across the sky than install automated tilting mechanisms.

If all 10 farms get the go-ahead, the scheme is expected to create 300 jobs. All the components, such as the steel cradles, would be made in Cornwall. Only the silicon PV cells themselves would be sourced from outside the county, in this case Taiwan.

Cornwall has been at the vanguard of the renewable energy industry in the UK since the country's first wind farm was built in the early 1990s. This summer, a £42m electrical "socket" will be laid on the seabed 10 miles off St Ives in anticipation of the installation of four wave energy machines. Earlier this month, Cornwall council signalled its intention to build its own £15m "solar park" on council-owned land next to Newquay airport.

The Silicon Vineyards consortium is confident its proposed solar farms will face far less public resistance than compared to wind turbine applications. "The visual interference will be negligible. It's very low to the ground and the surface of the panels are matt rather than reflective. No planning concerns have been raised by the local planning authority after initial inspections," said Cambridge.

But the solar farm at Benbole Farm could still face some local resistance. Richard Gooden, vice-chair of St Kew Parish Council, said parishioners were only informed of the proposal last week. "I can see there being some objections as the proposed site is adjacent to an area of outstanding beauty. You've got to be careful you don't destroy the one thing that brings people to Cornwall – its natural beauty." The Campaign to Protect Rural England, which has opposed the construction of many wind farms, says it "awaits to see the plans with interest", but adds it would prefer that "car parks and factory roofs" were considered first when siting these sorts of projects.

From the guardian

helping a few friends...

Our good friends at Thousand Suns have a new website out...
They sell MCS approved 185w panels at £160 per panel