News for November 26, 2002

100-unit Affordable Housing Project installs Solar Power [Richmond]

For Solar Power, Foggy City Maps Its Bright Spots [San Francisco - NY Times]

BP Solar Repositions for Growth - halts Thin Film production

Plans for Los Angeles PV Factory Halted

San Francisco launches Moscone Center Solar Project

Solar-energy research heats up in Santa Cruz

UC Students advocate solar power at Regents meeting

Student tenacity brings solar power to Menlo School [Atherton, CA]

Accidental finding could lead to full-spectrum solar cell [LBNL- Berkeley]

AstroPower Unveils New Rooftop-Integrated Solar Electric Power Systems

CALPIRG Report Shows 20% of L.A.’s Power Could Come From Renewables

Small Cities Help Residents and Businesses Go Solar [Arcata & Sebastapol]

Salinas hospital adopts solar power

City of Palo Alto wins Solar Community Award

Whole Foods Market switching to solar [Los Angeles]

Schott Applied Power Corporation Introduces SunRoof™ FS [for flat-roof commercial buildings]

IN BRIEF

New 'PV for Buildings' website from NREL- The vision of the Photovoltaics (PV) for Buildings research program at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is to see PV become a common building technology in the 21st century. Our goal is to improve PV building technology and to educate consumers and the building industry about PV, also known as solar electricity, to overcome technical and commercial barriers to market acceptance of the technology. http://www.nrel.gov/buildings/pv/

US PV prices drop 38% in past decade.2002-11-20 [Refocus Weekly] The price for solar PV cells and modules produced in the United States has dropped 38% during the past decade, according to data from the U.S. Department of Energy. Twenty-one companies were involved in the production of 88,221 kWp of solar PV in 2000, says the Energy Information Administration in its 'Renewable Energy Annual' report. The total of 85,155 kW of crystalline silicon and 2,736 kW of thin-film silicon is an increase from the 12,492 and 1,321 (respectively) produced in 1990. The cost was US$3.46 per peak watt for modules and $2.40 for cells, compared with $5.69 and $3.84 a decade earlier. The major end use for the U.S. solar product was grid-tied electricity generation, which used 21,713 kW in 2000, compared with 469 kW in 1990. Remote generation was in second spot, using 14,997 kW, up from 3,097 kW a decade earlier. Other leading end uses were 12,804 kW for transportation, 12,269 kW for communications, 12,153 kW for OEM applications, 5,644 kW for water pumping, 2,870 kW for consumer goods, 2,742 kW for health, and 3,028 kW for other end uses. In markets, the industrial sector includes all independent power producers and captures 33% of total PV shipments, while residential is 28% and commercial is 16%. Utilities account for 7%, transportation for 6%, government for 5% and other specialty uses are 5%. In 1990, the industrial market was 20% and the commercial market was 44%, while residential was 12%.

Detailed Images of the Sun - The most detailed pictures ever taken of the Sun reveal the insides of striking snake-like filaments that reach from bright portions of the solar surface into the dark hearts of sunspots. The images promise astronomers a new way to reach deep into these magnetic beasts and extract their operational secrets. Made with a specially equipped ground-based telescope, the photographs reveal features never before seen on the solar surface. The images themselves, and more important the technique used to make them, promise a fuller understanding of the complex and poorly understood interplay of matter and energy that roil the hot surface, all driven by the thermonuclear reactions at the Sun's core. view and read more here

Events

12/11 Akeena Solar [Los Gatos] Grand Opening Celebration - The festivities include a Solar Holiday Gift Fair, an exhibit on local solar electric installations, complimentary refreshments, and a knowledgeable staff available to answer questions about practical applications of solar electric systems. 11am to 7pm.
more info & directions