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Cut to the Chase – Solar energy viable

The recently-concluded bidding process for supplying solar power under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (Phase 1, Batch 2) has seen aggressive bids as low as Rs 7.5 per unit, bringing the long-anticipated ‘grid parity' — matching the cost of solar power to conventional power costs — much closer than even the most optimistic projections two years ago. The sharp drop in prices of photo-voltaic (PV) modules, by as much as 50 per cent in the last one year, and anticipation of a further drop in PV prices, has been the key driver for this unprecedented development.

PV MODULES

The drop in price of PV modules is triggered by the European financial mess, forcing Germany, Spain and some other European countries to withdraw fiscal concessions for the solar industry. Germany accounted for more than 50 per cent of new capacity addition in 2010, and the rest of Europe a further 30 per cent; the anticipated slowdown in this key market was the immediate reason for the drop in price.

Huge capacity additions in China and some other Asian countries for solar-grade poly-silicon refining, coupled with European slowdown, has led to sharp drop in prices — from USD 450 per kg in 2008, to as low as USD 40 per kg now — with a target of reaching USD 20 per kg in 2012 by major Chinese manufacturers. A similar capacity addition in the solar cell manufacturing, again led by China, has resulted in the crash of PV module wholesale prices from more than USD 3.5 / Watt in 2008 to USD 1.2 / Watt currently, with a further
Source - http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/features/mentor/article2687033.ece?homepage=true&ref=wl_home

Floating solar plants to bridge energy deficit?

India is estimated to have over 2,000 natural lakes and more than 65,000 manmade lakes that hold the potential to be platforms to set up floating solar power producing plants.

Indian entrepreneurs are slowly moving into this sphere, using expertise from abroad, with central and several state governments giving subsidies to set up plants to tap the abundant renewable power source.

“There is tremendous potential for floating solar PV (photovoltaic) projects in India. Certain estimates of water bodies in India indicate there are 2,167 natural lakes (wetlands) and 65,253 man-made lakes in India,” Uma Rajarathnam, associate vice president (Clean Energy and Environment Projects) of Bangalore-based Enzen Global Solutions, told IANS in an interview.

Enzen signed a memorandum of understanding with French company Ciel-et-Terre in Bangalore Nov 15 to set up floating solar power plants in various states generating power up to 50 MW.

The French firm’s team was part of the 19 delegates from various European firms who visited Bangalore Nov 14-18 to sell their knowhow in water and waste water treatment, biomass refining, setting up floating photovoltaic systems on water bodies, automated waste collection and restoring lakes and rivers.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/environment/2011/November/environment_November35.xml&section=environment

1 unit of solar power costs only 15 paise’

Of late, there has been an increase in generation of renewable energy like solar and wind energy. Among the traditional methods, less than 5,000MW of hydro-electric power is generated all over the country. Thermal power generates around 85,000MW, which is the highest. The disadvantage of thermal power is that it is highly polluting. For example, when you generate 1KW of power, around 1.2 kg of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere.

Electricity generated through this method is a major pollutant in any country. That’s why the need to look for cleaner energy arose, which gave birth to nuclear energy.

However, power generated through nuclear energy is negligible. Also, the byproduct of nuclear energy is nuclear waste and 1 gm of nuclear energy is more harmful than the carbon dioxide!

If solar energy is used for heating purposes, there will not be any electricity shortage for the next few years. About 70% of the electricity is used for heating or cooling purposes in our country.

http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_1-unit-of-solar-power-costs-only-15-paise_1604188

NTU and A*STAR IME Develop Cheaper Yet Efficient Thin Film Solar Cells

Researchers in Singapore have exploited advanced nanostructure technology to make a highly efficient and yet cheaper silicon solar cell. With this development, the researchers hope that the cost of solar energy can be halved.

Developed jointly by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics (IME), the new thin-film silicon solar cells are designed to be made from cheaper, low grade silicon. However it is able to generate electricity currents close to that produced by traditional solar cells made from costly, high quality silicon.

The new NTU-A*STAR nano-structured solar cells can produce a current of (34.3mA/cm2) – a world record for a silicon solar cell of its kind.

This is made possible by creating a unique texture using nanostructures – which is thousands of times smaller than human hair – on the surface of the solar cell.

The resulting electricity current output is close to those of traditional cells (40mA/cm2). Conventional thin film solar cells usually produce about half of the current that traditional cells produce.

Adoption of solar energy around the world is hindered by the high cost of traditional solar panels, partially due to it being made from high grade crystalline bulk silicon.

Using low-grade amorphous (shapeless) silicon thin film that has no texture – which is over 100 times thinner – addresses the material cost issue, but it is not as effective in converting sunlight to electricity, thus producing less energy.

The newly developed nanostructure method, which creates a unique texture on the surface of amorphous silicon, improves the Power Conversion Efficiency (PCE) of the thin film silicon cell and so increases the energy output.

The lead of the project from IME, Dr Navab Singh, Senior Scientist of IME’s NanoElectronics Programme, said: “To mitigate against reduced light absorption and carrier recombination in the amorphous silicon thin film cells, we designed and fabricated the novel nanostructures on silicon surface. The sole application of IME’s surface texturing strategy achieved a record high of short circuit current density with 5.26% PCE.”

“The cell level power conversion efficiencies of bulk crystalline Si solar cells are 20 – 25%. Given that short circuit current density is directly proportional to PCE, it is conceivable that subsequent efforts to improve fill factor and open circuit voltage would boost the final PCE of the silicon thin film solar cells greatly to match that of bulk Si solar cells. Our future research efforts will explore additional light trapping strategies such as plasmonics,” continued Dr Singh.

http://insciences.org/article.php?article_id=10422

Solar-power wizard has solutions to all your electricity woes

Even as Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) is struggling to keep your homes well-lit, here is a entrepreneur who has come up with ideas that could just be the solution to your power woes.

RS Hiremath, CEO, Flexitron, a research and development company specialising in cheap solutions for power problems, said: “We are always complaining about how Bescom is not providing sufficient power to us. But, we have to be more judicious while using power. It’s only when we become more responsible citizens that we can blame the system.”

Cellphone chargers, solar cookers, solar lighting solutions for kitchen and reading, solar fans and even solar-powered mosquito repellents — name it and Hiremath has it for you. He said, “I am an electronics geek and have been working on solutions for the power crisis for many years now.”

Necessity is the mother of all invention. For Hiremath, this mantra has worked best. “My idea was to bring solar energy to people. But per unit cost of solar energy is Rs25 today; I want to bring it down,” he said.

Speaking about his innovative products, he said, “We use cellphones, which we need to charge. With four-hour power cuts, it sometimes becomes difficult to manage. This innovative charger has a pedal, which can convert mechanical energy into electrical energy when rotated. Every minute of rotation gives three minutes of power,” he explained.

He has specially designed two products for homemakers. “One is the solar cooker and the other is kitchen light. Although solar cookers takes a little more time than an electric or regular cookers, they are eco-friendly. They do not use LPG or power. It takes 40 minutes to cook vegetables and rice,” he explained. The kitchen lights emit just enough light for your kitchen. “Power cuts in the evening make it difficult for women to prepare dinner. With this, if charged during the day, there’ll be light for 15 hours straight,” he said.

Not just that, Hiremath has something to beat the heat too. “Fans that work on solar-powered batteries, which can be charged in the sun, are also a hit. The fan can provide four hours of uninterrupted breeze, without making noise. The sound and velocity are matched and will not give you a headache if used continuously for four hours,” he explained.

Sensor lights, which can be placed in corridors leading to the restrooms, is also his othre innovation. “These are called ‘preferred, but not essential’ lights. When you want to use the sink and there is not light, this can sense your presence and light up,” he said.

With load-shedding during peak hours, this is perhaps the most innovative solution that takes the cake. “With a solar-powered water heater, you can heat up to half-a-bucket of water with a small solar panel. It takes about 20 minutes,” he said.
With innovative thinking, Hiremath has made life easy for many.

How about a hearing aid, that doesn’t need charging for nine hours straight? “This was made for people low on hearing. People in remote areas like villages find it hard to get batteries, so I made something that just needs to be in the sun for a few hours to be charged,” he said.

There’s more in the kitty — solar radio and talking thermometer for the blind. These are affordable, priced at `100 to `150,” he said. “The radio is meant mainly for farmers who can keep it on at while working at the farm,” he said

http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_solar-power-wizard-has-solutions-to-all-your-electricity-woes_1594479

Saving Energy with Solar Power : Using Homemade Solar Panels