Solarve by Sanyo

Solarve (Solar Vehicle), the first solar-cell-equipped public bus in the world, recently announced by Sanyo in Japan. The bus was revealed to memorialize the 100th anniversary of Ryobi, a Japanese transportation and logistics company.

The Solarve is basically a city bus with solar cells on top that generate power for its interior LED lightings.

Sanyo says the bus solar panels generate total power of 798 watts (420 watts through crystalline silicon cells, and 378 watts through amorphous silicon cells). Power will be supplied by storage batteries inside the bus about nine hours for a long winter, or extended periods of time without sunlight.

The Solarve expected to be first used as a beginning September 1 (in Okayama City in southern Japan).

Solar Powered Backup Generator

Did you ever want to have an emergency “backup” system that supplies electric power constantly? There is now a truly portable (and ultra-high efficient) solar power generator that produce up to 1800 watts of household electricity on demand when you need it.

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SunFlower by Ricardo Baiao

Sunflower is the new home & office solutions, which use solar energy to generate electricity through three built in standard sockets. Combined with a solar powered music systems interact and change the common living spaces into enjoyable and sustainable environment. Top solar panels for receiving solar energy throughout the day and the rechargeable battery of your equipment continues to work throughout the night. [Via]

Designer: Ricardo Baiao

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Hélio by Léa Longis

Hélio DAB Radio design using colorful Grätzel solar panel that is transparent. Grätzel solar panel get the color from vegetal ink, upping the quotient of green. LED panels and speakers complement the radio and in sync with the form. This kind we want to bring home! [Via]

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Solar Powered Pool Skimmer

For many pool owners, taking a variety of leaves, insects and other foliage that find their way into the water can be a spending of their time in the backyard. Enter smart Solar Powered Pool Skimmer, which not only took an elbow oil out of the pool to keep shining, but as his name, added bonus that is powered by the sun.

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Top 5 World’s Largest Solar Power Plants

1. Olmedilla Park Solar Power Plant

(in Olmedilla de Alarcón, Spain, 60 MW) Finished in September 2008. This power plant uses 162,000 average photovoltaic solar panel to deliver 60 MW of electricity on a sunny day. The whole factory was completed in 15 months at a cost of about 530 million U.S. dollars current exchange rate. Olmedilla built with conventional solar panels, which are made with silicon and tend to heavy and expensive.

2. Puertollano Park Solar Power Plant

(Spain, 50 MW) in 2008 Renovalia develop the power station in Puertollano, Ciudad Real, residential energy parks with an installed capacity of 50 megawatts (MW). The power generated here is equivalent to the annual domestic consumption of electricity of about 39,000 households. The energy produced here will replace the theoretical disposal 84,000 tons CO₂/year or 2.1 million tons of CO₂ over 25 years during the production.

3. Moura Solar Power Station

(Portugal, 46 MW) Completed December 2008. This solar power plant is placed in the municipality of Moura, Alentejo, Portugal, one of the sunniest areas in Europe and besides one of the most economically depressed. The construction involves two stages, first with a built in 13 months and completed in 2008, and the rest will be completed in 2010, with a total cost of € 250 million for the project. The power plant will have an installed capacity of 46 mwp, by more than 376,000 solar panels. Nearly 190,000 panels (32 MW) installed in permanent structures, 52,000 (10 MW) in a single-axis trackers, which follow the sun in the sky, and further 20 MW of power capacity will be added during phase 2 project. This will occupy an area of 320 hectares (130 acres), producing 88 GWh of electricity per year.

4. Waldpolenz Solar Park

(Germany, 40 MW) 550,000 First Solar thin-film CdTe modules. Completed in December 2008 Waldpolenz Solar Park, which is the world’s largest thin-film photovoltaic (PV) power system, built at a military air base east of Leipzig in Germany. The power plant 40-megawatt solar power system using state-of-the-art thin film technology. 550,000 First Solar thin film modules are used, which supplies 40,000 MWh of electricity per year. The investment costs for solar parks Waldpolenz Euro 130 million.

5. Arnedo Solar Plant

(Spain, 36 MW). Completed in October 2008, power plant that produces 34 GWh per year, which would own 12,000 households and prevent 375,000 tons of CO₂. Facilities in seven acres and 172,000 panels houses. Project budget of about € 180,000,000. La Rioja, a region of Spain known for its wine, already covers 62% of electricity with enhanced resources.

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First Solar Inc. and Ordos City signing MoU in Construction of 2 GW Solar Electricity Generator

Solar electricity generator with a capacity of 2 GW may be far from our imagination, but not in China. First Solar Inc., A solar power company from the United States, will build the solar electricity generator in Ordos city, in the province of  Inner Mongol. This project is the development of the world’s largest solar electricity generator. The signing between them have been done at September 8, 2009 at the headquarters of First Solar Inc. in Tempe, Arizona, witnessed by Wu Bangguo, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.

“We are proud of the signing of this MoU” said Mike Ahearn, chief executive of First Solar Inc. was quoted as saying by APP.

Government of the United States and China can work together to reduce the cost of electricity from solar electricity generator connected to the network which will be competitive with electricity from traditional energy sources and create a blueprint for accelerating large-scale development of solar energy utilization of the world to prevent / reduce the impact of climate change, he added.

The MOU underscores a long-term partnership between First Solar Inc. and Ordos City, which First Solar Inc. will also consider making investments in the Ordos solar cells.

“We are very pleased to partner with one of the major players in industry of solar electricity generator technology in the project that will impact on low-carbon production in the Ordos.” said Cao Zhichen, deputy mayor of Ordos. For this project the Government of Ordos city will provide 65 square kilometers of land.

“Discussions with First Solar Inc. on the construction of the factory in China is a demonstration for investors in China that they can be confident of investing in high technology fields,” he said further.

China actively increasing the production capacity of electricity cheaper than solar energy sources as part of its national goal to achieve 10 percent energy supply from renewable energy sources by 2010 and 15 percent in the year 2020 including the energy source of wind, hydro, biomass and solar.

Currently, the installed capacity of solar electricity generator in China around 90 MW. Government of China plans to boost the utilization of solar energy from the initial target of just 1.8 GW in 2020 to 2 GW by 2011 and 10 to 20 GW by 2020 as announced in a press conference of the MoU signing.

The first phase of Ordos city solar electricity generator is building 30 MW of project demonstration is planned to begin in June 2010. The next phase, respectively built solar electricity generator with a capacity of 100 MW and 870 MW is expected to be completed by the end of 2014. While the last phase of 1000 MW will be completed by the end of 2019.

Based on the MoU, during the initial phase of implementation, First Solar Inc. will actively study the possibility of development module and manufacturing suppliers in the Ordos. First Solar Inc. also plans to expand its supply chain for the production of thin-film photovoltaic modules and used module recycling.

Solar Energy Applications

Solar energy technologies use energy from the sun to produce heat, light, hot water, electricity, and even cooling, for homes, commercial and industrial.

There are a variety of technological applications that have been developed to take advantage of solar energy. Technology can be read further below.

Photovoltaics System

Solar cells work by converting sunlight directly into electricity. The electrons in the semiconductor material, the material used to capture sunlight, will move when the sun’s energy in the form of photons hit it. Solar energy is forcing the electrons to move, occur continuously, and consequently there is also a continuous electricity production. Process, which turns sunlight (photons) into electricity (voltage), called the photovoltaic effect.

Solar Cell Module

Solar cells are usually organized into modules that each module can consist of 40 solar cells. Some modules can be arranged to form a PV line fitted with a fixed angle facing south. Or even could be placed in a sun-tracking device, to get more solar energy throughout the day. Several rows of PV could produce enough power for a house. As for industrial applications or power companies, hundreds of lines of PV can be linked to form one large PV systems and sufficient to meet the electricity needs.

Thin Film Solar Cell

Thin film solar cells use several layers of semiconductor material with a thickness in the micrometer scale. Technology allows to create solar cells integrated into rooftops to the skylights. Even solar cells are designed for applications having the same power with actual roof.

Concentrated Solar Cell

Some solar cells are also designed to work with concentrated sunlight. Solar cells are integrated into the sunlight collector which usually uses a lens to focus it onto the solar cells. There are several advantages and disadvantages by using this technique when compared with flat plate solar panels. Its main objective is to use a minimum of expensive semiconductor material while increasing efficiency with more solar energy doubling of the cell surface. But because the lens must be directed to the sun, the use of collectors limited by location or region that get the most sunlight. Almost the same as flat plate solar panels, this technology can also be mounted on sun tracking devices are simple, but most use a sophisticated device. As a result, the use of solar cell technology is still limited to the power company, industry and large buildings.

Solar Cell Performance
Solar cell performance can be measured by looking at its efficiency in turning sunlight into electricity. Only a certain energy range from the sun which can efficiently converted to electricity, and most of it is reflected or absorbed by the material forming solar cells.

Because some of these, then the efficiency of commercial solar cells is only 15%, or about one-sixth of the sunlight that produce electricity. The lower efficiency, the more wide solar panels needed, and that is, the more expensive price to be paid. Increasing efficiency solar cells while maintaining low prices is a challenge that must be
solved. Until now, little by little these challenges can be overcome, as evidenced by the efficiency of the current 15% which in the 1950s, the efficiency is still less than 4%.

Solar Water Heaters

Shallow water in a pond or lake tend to hotter than the water in the deeper places. This occurs because the sun can heat the bottom of a pond or lake in the more shallow areas, and that means water that was on it become hot too.

With the same principle, the sunlight can be used as a water heater in the building and swimming pool. Most of the water heating system that uses the sun as a source of heat, consists of two main parts: the sun collector and storage tank. Collector commonly used are flat plate collectors. Collector consists of a thin flat box with a transparent top cover and facing toward the sun. Small pipes in the box with liquid, which can be water or other liquid, to be heated. The pipes are attached to a black plate that serves to absorb heat from the sun. After the heat formed in the collector, the fluid inside the pipes get hot.

Hot liquid is then flow to the storage tank which usually larger and thermally insulated better than conventional water heater storage tank. Systems that use a liquid instead of water, usually using the liquid to heat the water through the pipes like loops formed in the tank.

The system used can be active or passive systems, but the most commonly used is the active system. Active system works depends on the pump to move fluid from the collector to the storage tank. While passive systems rely on gravity to work with and the nature of water to circulate when heated.

The system used for the swimming pool is much simpler. Pool filter pump is used to drain water through a collector of sunlight, which is usually made of plastic or rubber, black, and hot water then flows back to the pool.

Solar Thermal

Most of currently existing power plants use fossil fuels as a source of heat to boil water. The resulting water vapor then turn turbines, which in turn drive generators to produce electricity. But now came into power generation using solar concentrator system, using the sun as a source of heat. There are three main types of solar concentrator systems: parabolic, dish / engine, generator tower.

Parabolic system concentrate energy from sunlight by using a U-shaped length mirror. The mirrors are arranged toward the sun and focus sunlight into a pipe containing oil that extends in the midst of such a parabolic focal point. Hot oil is used to boil water in a conventional steam generator and produce electricity.

Dish/engine system using the mirror disk to collect sunlight on a receiver that receive the sunlight and transfer heat to the fluid inside the machine. Heat result in fluid to expand and push the piston or a turbine and produce mechanical energy. Mechanical energy is then used to turn a generator or alternator to produce electricity.

Meanwhile, the generator tower using a mirror in a large number and placed in a large location to collect the sun rays and centralize it to the top of a tower where a receiver is placed. Generated heat melt salt which then flows to heat the water. The steam generated from hot water used to turn conventional steam generator. Molten salt can store heat for a long time. That means electricity can be generated at the sunset or when the sky is very cloudy.

The Largest Solar Power Plant in The World

Kyocera, one of solar cell manufacturers, build solar cell panels plant in Spain under the auspices of local firms Avanzalia. When the project is completed, this plant becomes the world’s largest electricity plant with a solar power source.

August 2008, the factory is located in the Castile-La Mancha Spain will produce electric power 18 mega watts. Power is enough for 9200 homes. Total 89.3200 Kyocera PV solar cell modules will be installed. 3300 tons of iron needed for iron buffer. It was so big, wide field required 80 acres or equivalent to 100 foot ball court.

Location of the solar plant at an altitude of 800 meters above sea level, so that the air temperature is more stable plus the sun in that regions can produce annually 1892 kWh/m2.

Grid-connected System

Grid-connected system was applied to many urban areas housing, existing electricity network. The purpose of using solar panels, to save the cost of excessive electricity consumption and help reduce the greenhouse effect caused by the use of fossil fuels which cause excessive air pollution. Electrical energy which is in turn, channeled into the electricity networks that already exist and can be stored in the electricity network. This term is called the Hybrid System, which combine solar power plants with electricity network. Solar systems can also be combined with other power plants such as PV-Generator Hybrid, Hybrid PV-Microhydro, Hybrid PV-Wind and can even be combined into 3 systems of different power to Hybrid PV-Wind-Generator.

The following illustration application of grid connected systems in housing

Caption:

1. Solar panels installed at suitable locations to generate optimal power.
2. Inverter (Controller) function to change direct current (DC) produced by PV into alternating current (AC) that can be applied to household electronic equipment.
3. Box distribution function to distribute the AC current through the PV generated electricity network.
4. Discharging the burden of household air-conditioning system.
5. Electric meter show the current of electricity network will b

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How Solar Power Plant Installation

Solar Power Plant is a system of clean energy and produce electricity from sunlight. Also support the issue of global warming. Because energy is widely used by State Electricity Enterprise is the energy that can not be renewable (fossil) fuel such as kerosene, gas, coal, etc. Whereas current cost of fuel has begun to become dearer. If using the sun is free energy available abundant.

Installation and Operation is very easy, enduring long and a very inexpensive investment option to be public at this time. Can be used to meet electricity needs anywhere, especially in rural areas or areas that do not (not yet) reached by State Electricity Enterprise network.

Various Benefits of Using Solar Power Plant:

• Source of energy that never runs out and is very environmentally friendly
• Can be used anywhere, especially areas that have not yet reached by State Electricity Enterprise network
• No need to pay State Electricity Enterprise
• Without fuel and pollution-free
• Not require special treatment
• Free from all treatment
• Can be used to light a variety of electrical equipment, especially for lighting the lamp, radio, cassette, TV
• Can be used for emergency lighting when electricity of State Electricity Enterprise, have extinction (power off)
• And so on

Principles of Sun Power Plant

In the daylight the solar panel receives light (rays) of the sun and then converted into electricity through the Photovoltaic. Electricity generated by solar panels can be directly channeled to burden or stored in Electric Box System (EBS), before use to load, light, radio, TV etc.

At the night, where the solar panel does not generate electricity. Electricity that has been collected (stored) in a Electric Box System (EBS) will be used. To turn on electrical equipment, especially the lighting, etc.

Components of Solar Power Plant

1. Solar Panel:
Change the sunlight into electricity. Modular form of the solar panel provides the ease of the electricity needs for various scale of the needs.

2. Electric Box System (EBS):

• Set of traffic from the solar panel to the load
• Saving electric current generated by the solar panel before used to drive the load. Burden can be a lamp, electronic device and other equipment that requires electricity
• Very flexible in placement, you can take shift about.

The Design of Solar Power  Plant – The Practical and Flexible

With a flexible design that can be possible to increase the capacity of electricity with solar panels only add (maximum 2 solar panel) for each package.

Installation HOW VERY EASY

1. Place solar panel outside the house (roof, roof tile, or make your own tower, etc.) directly to the sunlight adjust with the situation / place / situation you secure place
2. Pull cable from solar panel, and enter plug to EBS IN DC (There are DC IN and DC OUT) Plus ON-OFF if you use (do not forget to note the ON-OFF key If you use ON if not used right OFF). For a cable if less in length you can add/connect your own. Set EBS & cable installation neat and safely out of reach of children etc.
3. If solar panel at work, on the EBS have red indicator lights, when charging energy from the panel to EBS will be full, red indicator light will turn on flicker, if it is full will be off. Green indicator lights mark the flow you are working.
4. In the EBS (Electric Box System) have stop contact Out AC is useful to set the electronic equipment appropriate with watt and energy saved. You can also make your own plug combination for parallel needs. (Many stop contacts that have sold in the market with 2 holes, 4 holes, 6 holes, etc.) find the high quality.
5. Ready to use to set the lights, tv, radio, etc

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Using the Sun for Power – How It Works

Executive Summary about Sun Power by Richard Chapo

Generating electricity from the sun is all about converting sunlight into power. The technology behind solar systems is known as photovoltaic technology. Essentially, this technology involves using sunlight to create a chemical reaction. This process creates a direct current of electricity. The electricity is then converted to usable alternating current electricity and stored in a battery or fed into a utility grid system.

Solar platforms use this exact process to produce energy. The arrays are made up of small squares called photovoltaic cells. A collection of these cells forms a single panel and a collection of panels makes up a “solar array.”

The photovoltaic cells in a solar array are where the action happens. The cells are typically made with crystalline silicon under a glass cover. When sunlight hits the crystalline silicon, the material reacts by kicking off electrons. Tiny wires built into the cells collect the electrons in the form of an electrical current.

The biggest issue with solar platforms is how efficiently they convert sunlight into electricity. Top brands will convert at roughly 15 percent efficiency.

Making Use of the Power That is Supplied by the Sun
Executive Summary about Sun Power by Mick Purcell

The period of time has been relatively short since the idea of using solar power has come into effect for homes. Solar power for homes may become more reliable as more builders explore ways to make new energy saving measures coincide with their use.

Augmentation systems – The majority of solar power systems for homes fall into this category. This system will power a system that is specific with in the home rather than powering the entire home. Some systems can power heating and cooling systems on their own, without any need for electricity. A system like this one takes pressure away from the home’s electrical system and puts the cash saved from this back into the home owner’s pocket.

Backup systems – Sun-powered generators will extend to backup systems for solar homes. When backup is necessary, this system won’t always keep the home performing completely. One reason a backup system is so helpful would be for installing heating, air conditioning, or refrigeration backups in the event of a power outage.

Over the past several decades, there has been great improvement in solar power for homes. Is it odd why no one invests in solar power? Fuel costs rising and US dollar falling due to the power outages and hurricanes.

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Solar Cookers – Going Green With Simple Solar Ovens

Executive Summary about Solar Cooker by Detlef Warner

Cooking with a solar cooker is one more way that you too can go green!

A solar cooker, or solar oven, is mechanism that uses sunlight to cook food rather than electricity or gas. Solar cookers come in several different varieties: A box cooker, panel cooker, and a parabolic cooker. While a box cooker is a better choice when you’re looking to cook a large amount of food, a parabolic cooker is capable of cooking the food faster.

Solar cookers will take more time than a traditional oven, with the exception of a parabolic cooker, so you should plan on allowing approximately two times the regular cooking time. Solar cookers are readily available both online and in stores. You can construct a solar oven out of something as simple as cardboard and in a short amount of time be cooking your first solar meal!

How to Make a Solar Cooker? – Making a Homemade DIY Solar Cooker
Executive Summary about Solar Cooker by Dinna Bonevi

Isn’t it a wonderful idea to make a homemade DIY solar cooker, then cooking under the sun? Clues are: it’s energy source is free, environment friendly, comparable to latest cooker but with great discount, pocket friendly and absolutely can’t operate without the help from the mother sun. I’m talking of having a solar cooker, cooking under the sun project.

Will you spend some bucks or rather choose the pocket friendly unit? I guess all of us prefer money saving units. Absolutely it could, the sun continuously gives us the heat and solar energy more than we ever need. So, the solar cooker, cooking under the sun project is definitely durable when we speak of operational source of energy.

Let’s try to make use of readily available sources within the vicinity for our solar cooker.

Things needed:

- Foils or mirrors as reflectors

- Conductive Materials

- Stand (for the food)

The construction of a solar cooker is very easy. A solar cooker is usually a box style that’s made with conductive supplies. The longer it is exposed to the sun the hotter the unit gets. The reflectors help centralize the solar heat on the food that will be cooked.

The solar cooker could reach as high as 300 degrees temperature. Knowing on how to make a homemade DIY solar cooker project is another fun project for everyone. Enjoy the heat and let’s eat!

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