NanoVoltaix Company Blog (Solar)

source: http://www.azhttp.com/

TEMPE, Ariz. - A wide range of alternative and renewable energy technologies will be discussed at the Arizona Workshop on Renewable Energy, Nov. 17 to 19, at ASU’s Memorial Union on the Tempe campus.

The meeting will cover a wide range of renewable energy technologies, including solar cells, bioenergy, new materials and new ways to store energy. It also will cover technology commercialization, renewable energy education programs and social acceptance of these new technologies.

“Finding and developing sustainable forms of energy represents one of the greatest challenges we face today,” says Stephen Goodnick, ASU’s associate vice president of research and director of the Arizona Institute for Renewable Energy, one of the conference sponsors. “Energy is vital to our economy and our national security, not to mention the health of our planet.”

The aim of the Arizona Workshop on Renewable Energy is to highlight cutting edge research on new renewable sources of energy, to identify barriers to the deployment of renewable energy, and to address the educational needs of training the next generation workforce for an emerging renewable energy industry, added Goodnick.

Specific topics that will be covered include: biofuels from photosynthetic bacteria; holographic concepts and applications for solar energy systems; bio-inspired approaches to solar energy conversion; modeling and simulation of advanced materials for hydrogen storage; high efficiency multi-junction solar cells; renewable technology challenges from a utility perspective; public trust of novel energy systems; and architectural challenges for renewable energy. The workshop also includes sessions on renewable energy education, and the societal issues and impacts to the development of renewable energy.

In addition to the presentations, the conference will include poster sessions, tutorials and vendor exhibits. The meeting is sponsored by ASU’s Arizona Institute for Renewable Energy, the Global Institute of Sustainability, APS, Arizona Department of Commerce, City of Tempe, Green Fuel Solar, NanoVoltaix Inc. and Sol Equity.

SANTA CLARITA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BioSolar, Inc. (OTCBB:BSRC), developer of a breakthrough technology to produce bio-based materials from renewable plant sources that reduce the cost of photovoltaic solar cells, today announced that the company expects to begin commercial production of its BioBacksheet™ over the next few months, and is gearing up for pre-production runs.

The announcement follows recent news reports, including a feature in Solar Daily, that BioSolar has filed a comprehensive patent application ensuring BioSolar full protection on its breakthrough BioBacksheet technology.

“The ability to evaluate and remedy real-time issues encountered during multiple pre-production manufacturing runs will prove invaluable as we gear up for full-scale production,” said Dr. David Lee, BioSolar’s CEO.

Lee explained, “Pre-production pilot runs of BioBacksheets are very narrow, approximately one foot wide, while normal manufacturing runs will be five or six feet wide. Once pilot runs are successful, the next step is to transition to commercial production manufacturing runs. Physical properties of the backsheet from each pre-production run are measured, sample PV modules are produced, and tested before repeating the preproduction run.”

“These tests will provide the feedback necessary to move forward into full production of the BioBacksheet,” said Dr. Stanley Levy, BioSolar’s CTO. "We are extremely pleased with the progress so far, and we look forward to the successful transition into full scale production in the near future.”

In a September report, and the October 10 edition of California Energy Circuit, Beacon Equity Research analyst Victor Sula noted that previous attempts to make solar backsheet with bioplastics failed due to the material’s “low melting temperature and fragile molecular structure.” He noted that BioSolar’s material has “overcome these constraints” with “durability characteristics similar to conventional petroleum-based plastics.”

The recent activity reinforces BioSolar’s position at the forefront of providing advanced bio-based alternatives to the expensive petroleum-based backsheets currently in use, which have been actively sought by manufacturers as a component of solar panels.

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--First Solar Inc. is probably the most exciting company in the solar power industry. It has remarkably low production costs, explosive growth and unique technology. Furthermore, this thin-film solar panel manufacturer is one of the first PV (photovoltaic, solar electric) companies to compete directly with the conventional energy industry.

The entire PV industry has been experiencing tremendous growth, and that growth is expected to continue. In select regions that have the right combination of high electricity prices and good financial incentives, solar electricity already competes with conventional household electricity. As expected cost reductions continue, the size of these markets will continue to grow.

According to Solar Annual 2008, a new report by PHOTON Consulting, by 2012, solar power may constitute 35% of all electric capacity additions, and thereby move from the fringe of the electricity sector to the mainstream.

This subject and more will be discussed as part of the Searching for ‘Second Solar’” Conference Series, a series of three conferences to be held in San Francisco on Dec. 2-4, 2008 by PHOTON Press, the world’s largest publisher specializing in solar energy, and the Boston-based consulting branch PHOTON Consulting.

PHOTON´s 1st PV Start-up Conference, Dec. 2, 2008

Just a few years ago, First Solar was of little importance. Today, hundreds of start-up companies in the PV industry are preparing for commercial production, many of which are based in California. The question is: Which manufacturer has the potential to become the second First Solar?

PHOTON´s 1st PV Thin-film Conference, Dec. 3, 2008

Are the most promising candidates for becoming the next First Solar to be found among thin-film manufacturers? Which of the hundreds of companies worldwide has the best starting position?

PHOTON´s 1st TECAF Conference, Dec. 4, 2008

As a whole, few people working in conventional energy companies have an appreciation for how quickly PV distributed on rooftops and open fields could make inroads in their regions by 2012. The economic challenges from displaced revenue, profits and possibly negative network effects combined with operational challenges and higher uncertainty all may combine to stress these companies beyond their ability to cope.

BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Spire Corporation (Spire) (Nasdaq: SPIR), a global solar company providing turnkey solar factories and capital equipment to manufacture photovoltaic (PV) modules and cells worldwide, today announced that it has received a contract from the United States Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a microcrack detection technique for silicon solar cells and wafers. This automated diagnostic system will enable solar cell and module manufacturers to significantly reduce the cost and improve the reliability of their PV modules.

Both mono- and multi-crystalline solar cells and wafers occasionally contain microcracks that are difficult or impossible to detect by visual inspection. These cracks can propagate during module assembly or after installation, resulting in cell breakage and module power loss. Spire will investigate a microcrack detection technique that can be used as an in-process diagnostic method for identifying defective crystalline silicon wafers or solar cells in a production line. This new diagnostic capability will enable solar cell and module manufacturers to reduce labor requirements for inspection and rework, increase production yields, and improve module reliability and lifetime in the field.

Upon successful demonstration of the crack detection technology, it will be engineered into Spire’s production cell test, cell string, and assembly equipment.

SolarWorld AG further expanded sales and earnings by double digit percentage amounts in the 3rd quarter of 2008. In 3Q group sales grew by 47.2 per cent to 238.3 (previous year: 161.9) million EUR and in the first nine months by 41.5 per cent to 665.4 (previous year: 470.1) million EUR. The operating result before interest and tax (EBIT) went up from July through September by 67.3 per cent to 90.7 (previous year: 54.2) million EUR and cumulatively as per September by 51.8 per cent to 209.3 (previous year: 137.9) million EUR. The group profit could be increased in the 3rd quarter by 17.3 per cent to 35.9 (previous year: 30.6) million EUR and in the first nine months by 56.1 percent to 123.0 (previous year: 78.8 ) million EUR. SolarWorld AG has thus consistently taken all currently predictable capital market risks into consideration in its balance sheet. The group-wide rate of international business amounted to 59 (previous
year: 49) per cent.

The Management Board of SolarWorld AG expects to exceed the profit forecast for Fiscal Year 2008.

TEMPE, Ariz. & FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq:FSLR) and SolarCity Corporation today announced a module supply agreement and investment that will make solar power an affordable option for more U.S. homeowners and businesses. The two companies have entered into a five-year agreement that calls for First Solar to supply 100 megawatts of its advanced thin film solar modules to SolarCity, marking First Solar’s entrance into the U.S. residential segment. Pursuant to the agreement, First Solar will begin delivering modules to SolarCity in the first quarter of 2009. First Solar will also make a $25 million equity investment in SolarCity; part of a $30 million round of financing that will fund SolarCity’s continued U.S. expansion.

SolarCity, one of the nation’s leading residential solar installers, currently serves California, Arizona, and Oregon with plans to expand into additional states. SolarCity’s innovative SolarLease™ financing option allows homeowners to switch to solar power for less money than they currently pay for electricity from their power company, without the need for a large upfront investment.

With years of high volume production and system performance monitoring, First Solar has demonstrated proven efficiencies leading to high energy yields, low production costs and predictable energy performance. First Solar’s industry-leading modules make it possible for SolarCity to serve residential and small commercial markets where solar was not previously an affordable option.

“The combination of First Solar’s modules with SolarCity’s innovative approach to designing, financing and maintaining complete solar solutions enables homeowners and small business owners to lower their electricity costs while reducing air pollution and the effects of global warming,” said Mike Ahearn, First Solar’s chief executive officer.

“Our relationship with First Solar will enable us to deliver affordable solar power to a wider market of residential and small commercial customers,” said Lyndon Rive, chief executive officer of SolarCity. “We believe that together, SolarCity and First Solar are uniquely capable of making solar power competitive with the cost of electricity generated from fossil fuels across the U.S.,—making solar a mainstream source of electricity in the next several years.”

SKOKIE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NanoIntegris, an Illinois-based nanomaterials startup company, announced today that it has begun selling samples of its metallic and semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), which the company has labeled IsoNanotubes, to customers worldwide.

Because of their unique electronic and optical properties, SWCNTs have attracted considerable attention from researchers in the electronics, energy, and biomedical industries over the past several years. Most notably, SWCNTs can behave as either high-mobility conductors or semiconductors, capable of outperforming traditional materials like copper and silicon in applications such as integrated circuits, flat-panel displays, and solar cells.

Limitations in SWCNT manufacturing, however, have long precluded companies from utilizing SWCNTs for serious commercial R&D. "Current SWCNT manufacturing techniques can only generate mixtures of nanotubes that are electronically polydisperse, i.e. that contain both metallic and semiconducting tubes," said Nathan Yoder, NanoIntegris's product development manager. "But electronically polydisperse tubes are unsuitable for many applications. The heterogeneity of commercially available SWCNTs has consequently been a frustrating obstacle for nanotechnology developers."

Despite the demand for electronically pure SWCNTs, attempts to produce uniform metallic and semiconducting nanotubes have met with limited success. "Researchers have been struggling to make SWCNTs of uniform electronic type for over a decade," continued Dr. Yoder. "Although various synthesis and processing techniques have been developed which yield promising results on a laboratory scale, none of these techniques has demonstrated the potential to produce very-high-purity metallic and semiconducting tubes on a large, commercial scale."

NanoIntegris's approach meets this scalability criterion. The company has developed a novel centrifugation process for separating commercially produced, electronically polydisperse SWCNTs by electronic type. "Our process is effective and expandable," stated NanoIntegris's executive vice president Dan Leven. "What is more, the feedback we have received so far from customers regarding the performance of our metallic and semiconducting SWCNTs has been overwhelmingly positive. We are looking forward to working with applications developers to incorporate our IsoNanotubes into future commercial products."

NanoIntegris is a leading supplier of premium carbon nanotubes. The company was spun out of the Hersam Research Group at Northwestern University in early 2007. Its mission is to enable the commercialization of new carbon nanotube applications by providing researchers with materials of the type and purity they require.

6N Silicon Inc has commenced shipments of solar grade polysilicon from the company's new 2,000 tonne/year manufacturing facility in Vaughan, Ontario, satisfying initial scheduled deliveries for 6N’s volume customer contracts.

Primary funding for the new production operation was provided by the company’s $20 million B Financing Round that closed in March of this year. Additional support was provided by the Government of Ontario’s Next Generation of Jobs Fund. Production commenced within six months of the financing, and within four months of securing this pre-existing facility. The last few years have seen large-scale shortages of purified silicon in the solar industry. With this initial production plant, 6N has confirmed its ability to add capacity quickly and at low capital cost. Further production expansions are planned.

The use of standard, pre-existing light-industrial facilities distinguishes the 6N operations from traditional and other alternative purification processes. These new operations demonstrate the compact footprint and low input energy requirements of the 6N process. Development and refinement of the 6N process has been conducted through the company’s three-year EOS Project, supported by the Government of Canada’s Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) and Ontario’s Innovation Development Fund (IDF). The EOS Project is ongoing and remains housed at 6N’s original Mississauga facility.

Paolo Maccario, 6N Silicon CEO, said, “We are proud to have achieved this important milestone. On time and on budget, we have again demonstrated the core advantages of the 6N business and strength of our team. This is an exciting day for us and a promising time for the solar industry.”

6N Founder and CTO, Scott Nichol added, “It is very gratifying to see our vision of an affordable and easily scalable process realized and to see our hard development work pay off with the launch of this full scale production operation. Now that this facility has reached stable production, we can’t wait to add yet more capacity and refine the process even further.”

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today HelioVolt Corporation will cut the ribbon on its first factory for manufacturing high-performance thin film solar energy products. The 122,400 square foot sustainable facility in Austin, Texas is expected to create approximately 160 new jobs for the U.S.’s growing renewable energy sector. City officials, state and federal representatives, and energy industry leaders will join HelioVolt executives and staff in dedicating the new solar factory.

“Integrating environmental sustainability, new green jobs and technology innovation, HelioVolt is precisely the type of emerging leader in the global renewable energy industry that this city values,” said Austin Mayor Will Wynn. “This home-grown company is hard at work building a better way of harnessing clean electricity from the sun while energizing our local economy at the same time.”

“Clean and renewable energy technologies likely represent the single greatest economic opportunity of our generation. We at HelioVolt are proud to be contributing to job creation, market growth, energy stability and environmental sustainability – the combined benefits that makes this new clean economy a positive direction for our country,” said HelioVolt’s CEO and Founder, Dr. B.J. Stanbery.

Dedicated to sustainability in both product and practice, HelioVolt will house its first manufacturing operations in a certified green building. The company’s new facility achieved LEED (Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design) certification by both Austin Energy’s Green Building Program and the U.S. Green Building Council. Specific sustainability initiatives include: efficiency in lighting, energy and water conservation, sustainable materials, indoor environmental quality, design process innovation, and creative water reuse.

“This company was founded on the principal of making solar energy cost-effective, essentially aligning economic and environmental interests to fundamentally change our global energy industry. We are furthering that vision by ensuring that this company is built upon the very concepts of sustainability that we aim to enable in others,” said Dave Bowen, vice president of operations at HelioVolt.

The factory marks the first commercial implementation of HelioVolt’s proprietary FASST® reactive transfer printing process for solar thin film production. FASST is designed to bring solar energy to grid-parity by combining lower cost thin film materials with superior manufacturing efficiencies and high quality end products. Confirmed through independent testing, FASST delivers copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cells exceeding 12 percent conversion efficiency in a record setting six minutes. These conversion efficiencies place HelioVolt's CIGS devices among the highest performing solar thin film products on the market today. HelioVolt is using FASST to develop both conventional modules and next-generation building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) products for the global solar energy market.