Gregoire's CleanTech Blog

ReneSola Ltd s'introduit en bourse

ReneSola Ltd s'est introduite en bourse la semaine dernière sur l'AIM. A suivre...

REC Doubling Silicon Capaciy

Renewable Energy Corporation (Oslo:REC.OL) has initiated construction of a new production facility for granular polysilicon in Moses Lake, Washington, USA. The new plant will be built adjacent to REC's existing plant where the production is already focused on production of solar grade silicon (SOG) qualities.

REC Silicon has made substantial investments in a new proprietary technology. The new production technology features polysilicon deposition in fluidized bed reactors (FBR) instead of the more traditional thermal deposition furnaces or “Siemens reactors”. REC Silicon has run continuous test production with the FBR technology over the last year. The technology provides substantial reductions in investment and dramatic reductions in energy consumption.

The new plant is based on the FBR technology that REC has developed for production of granular solar grade polysilicon (SOG). The plant will add approximately 6,500 MT to REC's polysilicon production capacity, totaling close to 13,000 MT. SOG is used as raw material in the production of solar cells. 20-25 % of all solar cells in the world are primarily made from REC's polysilicon.

Mechanical completion of the plant is expected by the end of the first quarter 2008, with final completion and ramp-up of production in the third quarter of 2008.

REC has a very optimistic view of the solar market as can be seen from their graph, reproduced below.

Renewable Energy Corporation ASA, Høvik, NORWAY

Source : the Energy blog - thefraserdomain.typepad.com

Renewable Energy Corporation (Oslo:REC.OL) has initiated construction of a new production facility for granular polysilicon in Moses Lake, Washington, USA. The new plant will be built adjacent to REC's existing plant where the production is already focused on production of solar grade silicon (SOG) qualities.

REC Silicon has made substantial investments in a new proprietary technology. The new production technology features polysilicon deposition in fluidized bed reactors (FBR) instead of the more traditional thermal deposition furnaces or “Siemens reactors”. REC Silicon has run continuous test production with the FBR technology over the last year. The technology provides substantial reductions in investment and dramatic reductions in energy consumption.

The new plant is based on the FBR technology that REC has developed for production of granular solar grade polysilicon (SOG). The plant will add approximately 6,500 MT to REC's polysilicon production capacity, totaling close to 13,000 MT. SOG is used as raw material in the production of solar cells. 20-25 % of all solar cells in the world are primarily made from REC's polysilicon.

Mechanical completion of the plant is expected by the end of the first quarter 2008, with final completion and ramp-up of production in the third quarter of 2008.

REC has a very optimistic view of the solar market as can be seen from their graph, reproduced below.

Renewable Energy Corporation ASA, Høvik, NORWAY

Source : the Energy blog - thefraserdomain.typepad.com

Solar successes

Pacific Gas & Electric vows a five-fold increase in solar use. SunEdison LLC acquires a Sacramento-based solar system installer to expand its skills base and capabilities in California -- America's fastest growing solar market. Cambridge, Ontario-based ATS Automation announces terrific growth in its solar business and says it will file a preliminary prospectus -- finally! -- for the IPO of its Photowatt business in Canada and the United States. And Victoria, B.C.-based solar provider Carmanah Technologies reports a strong second quarter, showing a 142 per cent year-or-year increase in revenues ($15.8 million) and a positive swing back to profitability. "All of these achievements signal increased mainstream acceptance of our products, which bodes well for a strong finish to the year," said Carmanah CEO Art Aylesworth. "With the wide range of 'unusual' integration and expansion activities of the past year behind us, management is now focused on growth, efficiency and profitability initiatives."

Allemagne : Pairan Elektronik Gmbh reçoit une commande d'Espagne pour 360 Solar Tracking Systems

Pairan Elektronik Gmbh a annoncé que la compagnie a été retenue par la Société espagnole d'énergie, Abastecimientos Energéticos pour fournir et installer des systèmes solaire photovoltaïque près de Murcia, Espagne. Les modules seront installés sur 360 Solar Tracking Systems de type Pairan SunFlex SF40 afin d'optimiser la production d'énergie électrique...

Konarka Sets Stage for Large Volume Production

Konarka Technologies, developer of Power Plastic™ dye-sensitized solar cells has signed a non-exclusive licensing and joint development agreement for large-scale production with Renewable Capital Ltd of London, UK, an investment firm that identifies and invests in renewable technologies. Renewable Capital has committed resources, capital and equipment to their development activities. This includes the enlistment of services from Coatema, a world-renowned manufacturer of first-of-kind coating equipment. 

As part of the agreement, Renewable Capital will have ongoing access to Konarka’s dye-cell technology, as it is developed. It anticipates the technology will scale to several hundred megawatts.

Konarkaq has licensee rights to dye-sensitized solar cell technology from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL).   The EPFL's dye-sensitized technology was developed by the world-renowned scientist, Dr. Michael Graetzel, and enables photovoltaic technology to create energy across a broad spectrum of light, both indoors and outdoors. Konarka significantly enhanced the technology and process development based on the company's own inventions and exclusive, worldwide licensing rights to proprietary processes that enable production at lower temperatures, serving as the foundation for extremely low manufacturing costs.   As a result, Konarka leveraged its own intellectual property in conjunction with the EPFL license, to expedite the commercialization of its photovoltaic (PV) technology.

Renewable Capital selected Coatema as its manufacturing partner due to its more than 30 years in the laminating and coating equipment industry. The company boasts the largest research and development center for coating and laminating in Europe.

“Our proven coating process can be leveraged for large-scale manufacturing of new materials, such as Konarka’s dye cell technology,” stated Thomas Kolbusch, managing director at Coatema. “As well, we provide complete control of the entire production process, from the development of the formulation, trials in our own lab, manufacturing of the plants and full support to the final product, thus ensuring the most optimum manufacturing conditions.”

Konarka uses photovoltaic nanotechnology to make material with properties similar to an ink -- composed of particles 1,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair -- that can be applied to plastic or fibers. The material absorbs light, and emits electricity, particularly well because the minute size of the particles means more surface area is exposed to sunlight.

Konarka is the leading developer of polymer photovoltaic products that provide a source of renewable power in a variety of form factors for commercial, industrial, government and consumer applications. Konarka’s photovoltaic nanotechnology is focused on delivering lightweight, flexible, scalable and manufacturable products. Konarka Technologies is headquartered in Lowell, Mass., U.S.A., with European headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany, and research and development facilities in Austria and Switzerland.

For more information, visit http://www.konarka.com.

Source : The Energy Blog - thefraserdomain.typepad.com

Konarka Technologies, developer of Power Plastic™ dye-sensitized solar cells has signed a non-exclusive licensing and joint development agreement for large-scale production with Renewable Capital Ltd of London, UK, an investment firm that identifies and invests in renewable technologies. Renewable Capital has committed resources, capital and equipment to their development activities. This includes the enlistment of services from Coatema, a world-renowned manufacturer of first-of-kind coating equipment. 

As part of the agreement, Renewable Capital will have ongoing access to Konarka’s dye-cell technology, as it is developed. It anticipates the technology will scale to several hundred megawatts.

Konarkaq has licensee rights to dye-sensitized solar cell technology from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL).   The EPFL's dye-sensitized technology was developed by the world-renowned scientist, Dr. Michael Graetzel, and enables photovoltaic technology to create energy across a broad spectrum of light, both indoors and outdoors. Konarka significantly enhanced the technology and process development based on the company's own inventions and exclusive, worldwide licensing rights to proprietary processes that enable production at lower temperatures, serving as the foundation for extremely low manufacturing costs.   As a result, Konarka leveraged its own intellectual property in conjunction with the EPFL license, to expedite the commercialization of its photovoltaic (PV) technology.

Renewable Capital selected Coatema as its manufacturing partner due to its more than 30 years in the laminating and coating equipment industry. The company boasts the largest research and development center for coating and laminating in Europe.

“Our proven coating process can be leveraged for large-scale manufacturing of new materials, such as Konarka’s dye cell technology,” stated Thomas Kolbusch, managing director at Coatema. “As well, we provide complete control of the entire production process, from the development of the formulation, trials in our own lab, manufacturing of the plants and full support to the final product, thus ensuring the most optimum manufacturing conditions.”

Konarka uses photovoltaic nanotechnology to make material with properties similar to an ink -- composed of particles 1,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair -- that can be applied to plastic or fibers. The material absorbs light, and emits electricity, particularly well because the minute size of the particles means more surface area is exposed to sunlight.

Konarka is the leading developer of polymer photovoltaic products that provide a source of renewable power in a variety of form factors for commercial, industrial, government and consumer applications. Konarka’s photovoltaic nanotechnology is focused on delivering lightweight, flexible, scalable and manufacturable products. Konarka Technologies is headquartered in Lowell, Mass., U.S.A., with European headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany, and research and development facilities in Austria and Switzerland.

For more information, visit http://www.konarka.com.

Source : The Energy Blog - thefraserdomain.typepad.com

China Solar cells manufacturer : Solar EnerTech

Shanghai, China-based photovoltaic (PV) solar energy cell provider Solar EnerTech said the construction and installation for its 42,000-square-foot manufacturing and research facility in Shanghai's Jinqiao Modern Science and Technology Park is ahead of schedule.

The company expects solar cell production will begin during Q4.

Solar EnerTech said its plan is to invest in PV cell research to develop higher efficiency cells and put the results of that research to use immediately in its manufacturing processes.

Further, the company said its R&D program will work to bring it to the forefront of advanced solar technology research and production.

The projected production capacity for the Shanghai-based facility is estimated at an output of 20 megawatts per production line.

As the industry has seen recent prices increases, the company estimates that each 10 megawatts of production translates into roughly $37.5 million in annual revenue.

During a recent assessment to determine the status of construction, Solar EnerTech said its team randomly examined and was satisfied with the status of the ceiling-mounted environmental air cooling units on the first and second floor of the plant. Nearly a hundred of these A/C units make up an integrated system of temperature control inside the climactically-sensitive manufacturing facility.

Aiming to expand its human resources from both China and abroad, the company said it also reviewed the second draft of the training manual for new employees, and further investigated and made some minor ergonomic changes to the production technicians' locker and shower rooms, in order to provide the most convenient and comfortable conditions for the plant employees.

According to president Leo Shi Young, in a statement, “management was also pleased to note that some new faces had joined the company. Effective July 1, 11 university graduates enrolled by the company have begun their training program which includes overseeing numerous aspects of the critical installation and start up phase of the plant at Jinqiao Science and Technology Park. These graduates were recruited from Shanghai University and most of them specialize in micro-electronics and semiconductor applications.”

Finally, “Solar EnerTech’s management is pleased to report that all areas of its endeavor are moving quickly towards fruition of its near term manufacturing goals, as well as towards providing a vehicle to apply the outcome of its sponsored, university-based, and soon to be implemented in-house research directly into a production and distribution environment,” Young concluded.

The company also has a marketing, purchasing and distribution arm in Silicon Valley.

Source : Electronicsweekly.com

Large-Scale, Cheap Solar Electricity

A well-financed California startup is promising to build a solar-cell factory that could finally make solar power affordable.

Part of a solar-cell printing machine in Nanosolar’s pilot manufacturing plant. The technology might make solar power competitive with electricity from the grid. (Courtesy of Nanosolar.)

This week, Nanosolar, a startup in Palo Alto, CA, announced plans to build a production facility with the capacity to make enough solar cells annually to generate 430 megawatts. This output would represent a substantial portion of the worldwide production of solar energy.

According to Nanosolar's CEO Martin Roscheisen, the company will be able to produce solar cells much less expensively than is done with existing photovoltaics because its new method allows for the mass-production of the devices. In fact, maintains Roscheisen, the company's technology will eventually make solar power cost-competitive with electricity on the power grid.

Nanosolar also announced this week more than $100 million in funding from various sources, including venture firms and government grants. The company was founded in 2001 and first received seed money in 2003 from Google's founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

Experts say Nanosolar’s ambitious plans for such a large factory are surprising. "It's an extraordinary number,” says Ken Zweibel, who heads up thin-film research at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO. Most groups building new solar technologies “add maybe 25 or 50 megawatts," he says. "The biggest numbers are closer to 100. So it's a huge number, and it's a huge number in a new technology, so it's doubly unusual. All the [photovoltaics] in the world is 1,700 megawatts."

Today, the lion's share of solar cells are based on crystalline silicon, which is about three to five times too costly to compete with grid electricity, Zweibel says.

Nanosolar's technology involves a thin film of copper, indium, gallium, and selenium (CIGS) that absorbs sunlight and converts it into electricity. The basic technology has been around for decades, but it has proven difficult to produce it reliably and cheaply. Nanosolar has developed a way to make these cells using a printing technology similar to the kind used to print newspapers, rather than expensive vacuum-based methods.

Although the company expects to start selling solar cells next year, ramping up to full production will take more time. Meanwhile, high demand for solar cells worldwide will keep prices high, Roscheisen says. Eventually, however, he says the company hopes to attract more customers with lower prices, in several years reaching prices that make solar-power electricity competitive with the grid.

Zweibel says the company is likely to face challenges in ramping up production, although their pilot manufacturing facility is a big step. And he adds that Nanosolar is not alone in developing inexpensive manufacturing processes for CIGS solar cells, and at least one other company is working with a printing process.

Meanwhile, Andrew Gabor, senior engineer at Evergreen Solar, a silicon solar-cell developer and manufacturer in Marlboro, MA, says current supply problems related to conventional solar cells are easing as more production capacity is coming on line. This could mean that prices for silicon cells start dropping again, eventually becoming competitive with grid electricity. He suggests that in the future solar electricity supply will likely be met by a mix of technologies.

By Kevin Bullis

Source : Technology Review

Holographic Solar : a novel approach to concentrating sunlight could cut solar panel costs.

Rows of silicon solar cells alternate with rows of transparent holograms in Prism Solar's concentrators. (Courtesy of Prism Solar)

The main limitation of solar power right now is cost, because the crystalline silicon used to make most solar photovoltaic (PV) cells is very expensive. One approach to overcoming this cost factor is to concentrate light from the sun using mirrors or lenses, thereby reducing the total area of silicon needed to produce a given amount of electricity. But traditional light concentrators are bulky and unattractive -- less than ideal for use on suburban rooftops.

Now Prism Solar Technologies of Stone Ridge, NY, has developed a proof-of-concept solar module that uses holograms to concentrate light, possibly cutting the cost of solar modules by as much as 75 percent, making them competitive with electricity generated from fossil fuels.

The new technology replaces unsightly concentrators with sleek flat panels laminated with holograms. The panels, says Rick Lewandowski, the company's president and CEO, are a "more elegant solution" to traditional concentrators, and can be installed on rooftops -- or even incorporated into windows and glass doors.

The system needs 25 to 85 percent less silicon than a crystalline silicon panel of comparable wattage, Lewandowski says, because the photovoltaic material need not cover the entire surface of a solar panel. Instead, the PV material is arranged in several rows. A layer of holograms -- laser-created patterns that diffract light -- directs light into a layer of glass where it continues to reflect off the inside surface of the glass until it finds its way to one of the strips of PV silicon. Reducing the PV material needed could bring down costs from about $4 per watt to $1.50 for crystalline silicon panels, he says.

The company is expecting to pull in another $6 million from interested venture capitalists and start manufacturing its first-generation modules by the end of the year, selling them at about $2.40 per watt. Next-generation modules with more advanced technology should bring down the cost further.

In their ability to concentrate light, holograms are not as powerful as conventional concentrators. They can multiply the amount of light falling on the cells only by as much as a factor of 10, whereas lens-based systems can increase light by a factor of 100, and some even up to 1,000.

But traditional concentrators are complicated. Since the lenses or mirrors that focus light need to face the sun directly, they have to mechanically track the sun. They also heat up the solar cells, and so require a cooling system. As a result, although they redirect light with more intensity than the hologram device, "they're unwieldy...and not as practical for residential uses," says National Renewable Energy Laboratory spokesperson George Douglas.

Holograms have advantages that make up for their relatively weak concentration power. They can select certain frequencies and focus them on solar cells that work best at those frequencies, converting the maximum possible light into electricity. They also can be made to direct heat-generating frequencies away from the cells, so the system does not need to be cooled. "In this way, you are efficiently using only that part of the sunlight that really matters," says Selim Shahriar, director of the atomic and photonic technology laboratory at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.

Also, different holograms in a concentrator module can be designed to focus light from different angles -- so they don't need moving parts to track the sun.

Prism Solar's system incorporates these advantages. Nevertheless, to be competitive with other solar technologies available today, the company might need to reduce its price below $2.40 a watt, says Christo Stojanoff, professor emeritus of engineering at the Aachen University of Technology in Germany.

CEO Lewandowski says the holographic modules will cost about $1.50 per watt in a few years, using their second-generation technology, which will have solar cells sandwiched between two glass panels containing holograms. At that price, they'll start to compete with fossil fuel-generated electricity, which now costs almost three times less than conventional solar electricity, according to San Francisco, CA-based research and consulting company Solarbuzz.

The modules' intensive use of glass could be adding to their cost, says Douglas. Still, such a novel idea for a concentrator, using holograms, could be a lucrative investment because it needs less silicon than flat-panel modules and therefore saves money. The high demand for solar cells in Germany and other European countries "has now outstripped the supply, which has [led to] a silicon shortage and a shortage of manufacturing in the photovoltaic world," he says.

Although the idea of holographic solar concentrators has been around since the early 1980s, no one has developed them commercially yet, according to Professor Stojanoff, who has investigated the technique extensively. His company, Holotec GmbH in Aachen, Germany, researches and manufactures holographic materials. Also, Northeast Photosciences, a Hollis, NH-based company, came close to manufacture, before it went defunct for reasons unrelated to the technology or to finance, he says.

So, if all goes according to plan, Prism Solar could be the first company to manufacture and sell holographic solar concentrator modules.

By Prachi Patel-Predd

Source : Technology Review

High Efficiency Solar Cells Coming to Earth

The race to bring the high efficiency solar cells used in space down to earth has intensified. The Rochester Institute of Technology’s NanoPower Research Lab just announced $846,000 in new funding from the Department of Defense to advance its development of nanotechnology structures in space solar cells.

These multijunction cells achieve efficiencies close to 40 percent by using expensive III-V semiconductor materials that are not economical in terrestrial applications. There are many researchers experimenting with the application of novel nanotechnologies to photovoltaics—carbon wires, tubes etcetera. RIT and a number of others are applying quantum dots to the existing space technology—triple-junction cells consisting of gallium arsenide, indium phosphide and geranium layers—to increase the absorption efficiency and light spectrum.

The incumbent space applications suppliers are gearing up for a terrestrial market. Emcore recently joined the Defense Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Very High Efficiency Solar Cell (VHSEC) program, which aims to double the efficiency of terrestrial solar cells over the next 50 months. VHSEC is providing $53 million in funding to program participants over the next few years, the largest commitment to solar research to date. The semiconductor component maker has reached 36 percent efficiency and plans to be in production this year. SpectraLab, the leading developer of solar cells used in space, holds the efficiency record at 39 percent. It says the terrestrial market is still a few years off.

A few stealth startups hope to get there sooner. Cyrium Technologies, which closed $3 million in venture capital financing in December, plans to reach 45 percent efficiency levels in 2007. The high price of silicon is making the semiconductor III-Vs more attractive, but the real challenge of bringing the material and fabrication costs down remains.

Space Island Group (SIG) has a bigger and bolder idea—producing solar energy with space satellites and beaming the power down to earth. In a press release out this month, SIG says it hopes to secure a $200 billion, 20-year energy purchase agreement with China or India to cover 5 percent of the project costs. SIG may also have to find some otherworldly project backers. The largest project financing to date, the channel tunnel, at $15 billion, involved a global syndicate of 220 banks.

Lien: EcoLog :: High Efficiency Solar Cells Coming to Earth.

Solar Silicon Squeeze : The rise in solar-panel use is tightening the market for silicon.

HONOLULU (AP) -- In a state where tropical sunshine is near constant and electricity costs twice the national average, solar power seems an easy answer.

But with the panels that produce the electricity already popular abroad and a batch of new domestic tax credits just kicking in, solar suppliers locally and around the globe are scrambling for stock.

''Those of us with a long vision here aren't jumping up and down,'' said Rick Reed, who has witnessed the fickleness of government incentives for his industry for 25 years. ''But we're sure happy business is good.''

The problem is that while demand for solar panels is increasing, the ability to meet that demand has not caught up, said Reed, president of the Hawaii Solar Energy Association.

The pressure could soon become even tougher in Hawaii as state politicians push for bigger incentives for residents to install the panels. Governor Linda Lingle has proposed boosting the caps on credits for single family homes from the current $1,750 (euro1,475) to $10,000 (euro8,429). The caps for businesses would double to $500,000 (euro421,478).

With a growth rate of almost 40 percent per year over the past five years, the solar panel industry is today worth $15 billion (euro12.6 billion) globally, said Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association.

And the United States is beginning to catch on.

Citing soaring oil prices and the need for a more reliable and environmentally friendly fuel sources, a number of states and the federal government are pushing rebates and tax credits to encourage people to install solar panels on their roofs.

In a plan detailed earlier this month, President George W. Bush outlined a strategy to increase domestic solar power from its current 175 megawatts to up to 10,000 megawatts in the next decade.

Homeowners in January could begin claiming federal tax credits for installing solar power for the first time in 20 years. And in a bold move earlier this month, California energy regulators approved a plan to provide $2.9 billion (euro2.4 billion) in rebates for solar panels between 2007 and 2016.

Add to that, major government programs in Germany and Japan have already got those countries' markets humming -- and demand has quickly outstripped supply.

At the same time, however, the solar panel industry is being forced to slow down. That is because popularity has put a squeeze on the supply of the silicon, the key ingredient in the panels -- as well as the brains of computers and other high-tech gizmos.

In 2006 the solar industry is on track to use more of the silicon, known as polysilicon, than the entire semiconductor industry, Resch said.

''We've grown to such a point that there is no available polysilicon feedstock to continue to put into the solar industry so that we can grow at that rate,'' he said.

Historically solar was only a third of the market for the polysilicon also used in microchips, said Lara Chamness, senior market analyst for the trade group Semiconductor Equipment and Material International.

''But the solar guys are using more and more of the polysilicon than ever before. So that's causing a really tight supply situation and prices are going up accordingly,'' she said.

Contract prices are coming in at $70 (euro59) per kilogram, up from $30 (euro25) per kilogram just two years ago, she said.

The big players on the microchip market, such as IBM and Intel, are aware of the problem, but they are not showing any fear, she said. A spokesman for high-tech giant Intel said his company has long-term contracts with its suppliers.

And those companies use very little of the precious material in each of their products, so they can easily pass on the higher prices to customers, Chamness said. By contrast, polysilicon is the main ingredient covering the coffee table-size solar panels.

So with stocks scarce and raw material prices high, the prices for solar panels have yet to drop.

Polysilicon makers are moving to boost their supply.

Hemlock Semiconductor Corp., which is majority-owned by Dow Corning Corp., is the top supplier of polysilicon to the solar market. It is now working to double its capacity in the next two years with a $500 million (euro421 million) expansion at its Michigan facility.

The unforeseen government incentives for solar as well as the microchip industry's recovery after the dot-com bubble burst added to the unpredictability, said Marie Eckstein, vice president of advance technology and venture business at Dow Corning.

She said that for now the shortage is compelling the solar industry, which is still striving toward maturity, to find different ways to use silicon -- including less of it.

''I think we're just in startup pains,'' she said.

Reed said he's seen excitement for solar before. He's also seen it quickly fade when oil prices drop or when the White House changes hands.

But there are signs that the industry is maturing, he said, and the ups and downs aren't what matters anyway.

''At the end of the day, we're saving the world one roof at a time,'' he said.

On the Net:

Hawaii Solar Energy Association: http://www.hsea.org/ 

Solar Energy Industries Association: http://www.seia.org/

Semiconductor Equipment and Material International: http://www.semi.org/

Hemlock Semiconductor Corp.: http://www.hscpoly.com/

By Associated Press