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Solar Energy & Solar Power Facts

by Zach
written by Zach

Need some solar energy facts or solar power facts? This page is aimed at becoming the best go-to source on the web for solar facts… if it isn’t already. The solar facts below are succinct and organized by categories and subcategories. To help improve the page, please feel free to add any solar facts you are aware of in the comments below… or correct ours if we’ve got any wrong. If you do either of those things, just be sure to include a link to a reliable source — we want to be very careful here to check the facts before publishing them. Cool? Cool.

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Solar farm in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Photo Credit: Marika Krakowiak / Solar Love

 

Solar Energy Facts / Solar Power Facts Table Of Contents

The main categories below are:

— Solar Records

  • Solar Cell Efficiency Records
  • Solar Module Efficiency Records
  • Largest Solar Power Plants
  • Solar Market Leaders
  • Solar Vehicles

— Solar Policies

  • Feed-in Tariffs
  • Net Metering
  • Value of Solar Tariffs
  • Renewable Energy Standards (RES) / Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) / Renewable Obligation
  • PACE Financing
  • Solar Mandates
  • Rebates, Tax Credits, Grants, & Loans
  • Interconnection
  • Permitting
  • More Info, More Policies?

— How Solar PV Works

— Chime In!

Now, on to the solar energy and solar power facts!!

Solar Records

Solar Cell Efficiency Records

Solar Module Efficiency Records

Largest Solar Power Plants

PV

CSP

CPV

Solar Market Leaders

Global

US

Module Manufacturers & Developers

Solar Vehicles

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Sharp Solar Cell Efficiency Record — Another One (44.4%)
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Sharp Solar Cell Efficiency Record — Another One (44.4%)

by Zach
written by Zach

In May, Sharp regained the world’s triple-junction, non-concentrator solar cell efficiency record — 37.9%. Now, it has also taken the overall world solar cell efficiency record — 44.4%. Here’s another guest post from Mathias Aarre Maehlum of Energy Informative on the news.

By Mathias Aarre Maehlum

A research team at Sharp Corporation has announced that it has created a solar cell capable of converting 44.4% of incoming sunlight into electricity. The solar cell is of the “concentrator triple-junction compound” type, which basically is a lens-based system that focuses sunlight.

The high conversion efficiencies that we see with compound solar cells are due to several photoabsorbing layers typically made from indium and gallium. Sharp’s record-setting solar cell uses three layers (InGaP top, GaAs middle, and InGaAs bottom), as you can see on the illustration below:

concentrator

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Current Solar Module Efficiency Nowhere Near Its Potential, Especially Thin-Film Solar & CPV (Chart)
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Current Solar Module Efficiency Nowhere Near Its Potential, Especially Thin-Film Solar & CPV (Chart)

by Zach
written by Zach

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Director Dan Arvizu recently gave a keynote speech during the 2013 International Renewable Energy Conference (part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week), which I was lucky enough to attend in January*. His speech covered a large variety of cleantech topics, and most of the points I’ve covered extensively over the years. However, a couple of his points stood out to me as rather interesting and relatively uncovered.

Some of them are the foci of the interviews I conducted with him after his presentation (see the posts linked on the bottom of this article). But I decided to leave a couple of the points out of our interviews since they’re pretty straightforward and the chart presenting them is available on the NREL website, and now right here:

solar-cell-efficiency-potential-achieved-570x513

The takeaway points from the chart are:

  1. The current efficiencies of all types of solar modules and solar cells are nowhere near their theoretical efficiency limits. (And that’s not to say the theoretical limits can’t also increase.)
  2. Thin-film solar (CdTe) is especially ripe for efficiency improvements (commentary on that below), as are concentrated photovoltaics (CPV).
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Solar3D Moving Towards Manufacturing Prototype
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Solar3D Moving Towards Manufacturing Prototype

by Zach
written by Zach

I think Solar3D may well take the cake for obsessiveness in putting out press releases (at least, within the solar industry). It puts out press releases every step of the way, and even in between steps. Here’s the latest, which doesn’t say that a manufacturing prototype is being developed, but simply that discussions with a potential partner about that topic have begun:

solar3dSolar3D, Inc. (OTCQB: SLTD), the developer of a breakthrough 3-dimensional solar cell technology to maximize the conversion of sunlight into electricity, [May 1] announced that it has begun discussions with the Smart System Technology and Commercialization Center of the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, in New York, to fabricate a manufacturing ready prototype and execute a pilot manufacturing run of its new solar cell.

“We have produced the initial prototype of our innovative new solar cell. It has exceeded our initial expectations. Now, we are focused on doing what is necessary to make it available to the world,” said Jim Nelson, CEO of Solar3D.

Inspired by light management techniques used in fiber optic devices, the company’s innovative solar cell technology utilizes a 3-dimensional design to trap sunlight inside micro-photovoltaic structures where photons bounce around until they are converted into electrons. Solar3D’s working, proof-of-concept prototype of its innovative solar cell has prepared the firm to focus on the new product’s commercialization — leading them to the current discussions. “The results of the initial testing on the original prototype have been very encouraging,” says Nelson. “But there is still room for making the product even better. The version 2.0 of the Solar3D cell is currently being refined.”

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Amonix Breaks Another World Record For PV Module Efficiency

by Tim
written by Tim

Amonix Inc. is no stranger to setting peak efficiency records with its concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) solar power systems. As a matter of fact, it just set a new record that successfully converted more than 36% of direct sunlight into electricity. This new achievement breaks the old record Amonix established in May 2012 of 34.2% peak efficiency.

cpv technology

Image Credit: CPV Technology via Amonix

Amonix has been the leading designer and manufacturer of concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) solar power systems for quite some time. This result continues Amonix’s long history of leading the world in solar module efficiency, having been the first to convert over ⅓ of the sun’s energy in May 2012, and the first to break 30% module efficiency in 2011.

Amonix’s latest-generation CPV technology started in late February with outdoor testing, and ran until April of this year. The results from this period showed a peak operating efficiency of 36.2% measured on March 14, 2013, with a DNI of 876 W/m2, an ambient temperature of 16°C and instantaneous wind speed of 1 m/s.

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Solar Junction To Provide Solar Cells For European Space Agency
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Solar Junction To Provide Solar Cells For European Space Agency

by Zach
written by Zach

SOLAR JUNCTION LOGOWell, it’s apparently not a done deal yet, but it’s close enough that Solar Junction has released an announcement about the deal. “Silicon Valley-based Solar Junction, a developer of high-efficiency multi-junction solar energy cells for the concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) market, is in contract negotiation along with IQE – the leading global supplier of semiconductor wafers – for the development of next-generation satellite solar cells for the European Space Agency,” that press release stated.

If you’re not familiar with Solar Junction, it has set record after record for solar cell efficiency, using innovative multi-junction technology.

The first time I wrote about the company, it had set a solar cell efficiency record of 40.9%. Since then, it has broken its own record a few times, getting up to 44% efficiency today.

Naturally, panel space is is precious out in… outer space. So, while the tradeoff between efficiency and price may not yet make Solar Junction competitive in residential, commercial, and utility markets; it apparently does in space markets.

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High-Concentration PV Thermal System From IBM — 80% Efficiency, Potable Water, Air Conditioning
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High-Concentration PV Thermal System From IBM — 80% Efficiency, Potable Water, Air Conditioning

by James Ayre
written by James Ayre

How does a cost-competitive photovoltaic system that is able to concentrate sunlight 2000 times and then capture 80% of the concentrated energy sound? Pretty good, right? Such a system is currently being developed by researchers at IBM Research, Airlight Energy, ETH Zurich, and Interstate University of Applied Sciences Buchs NTB, after winning a three-year $2.4 million grant from the Swiss Commission for Technology and Innovation.

And in addition to generating electricity, the system can itself desalinate water and provide air-conditioning, useful features for the sunny and remote regions that the system is designed for.

Image Credit: © IBM

Image Credit: © IBM

An economical High Concentration Photovoltaic Thermal (HCPVT) system, that in addition to supplying electricity can desalinate water and provide air conditioning, is the complete package as far as many regions of the world are concerned.

The prototype system makes use of a large parabolic dish, composed of a number of mirror facets, which are coordinated to a sun tracking system. The system automatically repositions itself to the optimum angle for power generation. The sunlight that hits the mirrors is reflected off of them onto a number of microchannel-liquid cooled receivers with triple junction photovoltaic chips. Every one of these 1×1 centimeter chips “can convert 200-250 watts, on average, over a typical eight hour day in a sunny region.” And there are hundreds of these chips in the design, providing a total of about 25 kilowatts of electrical power.

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Solar Performance Dataset Under Construction
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Solar Performance Dataset Under Construction

by Zach
written by Zach

sunspec allianceNREL has contracted the SunSpec Alliance “to build a database of real-world solar asset performances from solar facilities across the country,” the SunSpec Alliance notes. “The database, which uses associated data that is collected from thousands of systems across the United States, is designed to improve access to low-cost financial capital by enabling credit rating agencies and potential investors to assess the underlying risk of the asset class.”

This is all part of the DOE’s broader Sunshot Initiative to reduce the soft costs of solar power, and particularly part of Solar Securitization and Public Capital Finance work.

A webinar about how you can help the SunSpec Alliance build the Open Solar Performance and Reliability Clearinghouse is coming on April 25.

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Solar3D Says It Will Create Manufacturing Prototype This Year
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Solar3D Says It Will Create Manufacturing Prototype This Year

by Zach
written by Zach

Solar3D has been pretty aggressive on the PR front for a few years now. It has made a lot of announcements about efficiency breakthroughs, proof of concept, patent applications, etc. Well, it has apparently now announced that it is finally going to create a manufacturing prototype this year, and is poised to enter the solar market in 2014.

“We are focused on bringing this breakthrough technology to market,” Jim Nelson, the CEO of Solar3D, recently said. “We are on our way to the next major step – the production of a manufacturing prototype, which is required to undertake a pilot production run this year. The pilot run will prove the 3D Cell’s performance characteristics in a production environment and lead us to a manufacturing partner and entry into the marketplace by 2014.”

We’ll see. In the meantime, here are a couple images that the company put together (via its technology page):

1-tech-page-wide-angle

cell-efficiency-full-size

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Renewable Energy Sector Launches Action Alliance
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Renewable Energy Sector Launches Action Alliance

by Zach
written by Zach

From the new Action Alliance for Communication in the Renewable Energy Sector:

Action Alliance for Communication in the Renewable Energy Sector

On 8 March, around 100 representatives of the renewable energy sector, from Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands, have joined forces to form an action alliance. Made up of operators, research institutes, universities, journalists, communication agencies, companies and associations, this group aims to develop a joint communication strategy. The first workshop took place during the photovoltaic symposium in Bad Staffelstein. Further meetings and political round table discussions are planned.

Remaining clean: transparency, stability and energy democracy

The subsidies for fossil fuels in Germany amount to over 20 billion euros annually, assuming 70 euros per ton of carbon dioxide. If the German government’s decision of the energy transformation to more renewables (the socalled Energiewende) is reversed, carbon dioxide emissions and costs and subsidies for the consequences of climate change will continue to rise.

While the levies for renewable energies are clearly declared, the end user sees nothing of the billions in profit and the external costs of old energy structures on his or her energy bill. The current plans of the Federal Government, to cut remunerations they had already agreed to, burden the protection of legitimate expectation and are an encroachment upon property rights.

The action alliance calls for transparency in electricity costs, stable grids thanks to the combination of all renewable energies, stable framework conditions and energy democracy.

Becoming clean: 100 per cent renewable energies

The price for a solar power plant has halved in only three years. The many decentralised renewable energy systems can not only introduce a democratic energy revolution in Germany. The technical challenges of full provision with renewable energies can be solved – this has already been shown by numerous research projects.

The action alliance is convinced that renewable energies can supply 100 per cent of energy needs even before 2050, because it is technically possible, affordable and citizen-oriented – a number of municipal initiatives even have taken up this goal for the 2020s.

Here’s the full Action Alliance list:

  • Armin Froitzheim, Bosch Solar Energy AG
  • Dr. Klaus Heidler, Solar Consulting GmbH Hermann Issa, Belectric OPV GmbH
  • Iris Krampitz, PR-Agentur Krampitz
  • Thomas Nordmann, TNC Consulting AG
  • Pia Manz, Fachhochschule Nordhausen
  • Juliane Berghold, Photovoltaik-Institut Berlin AG David Emanuel Stakic, Hochschule Ulm
  • Holger Ruf, Hochschule Ulm
  • Arthur Schraml
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Konrad Mertens, Fachhochschule Münster
  • Prof. Dr. Martin Spülbeck, innovia solar
  • Thomas Kotitschke, Phoenix Solar AG
  • Raphael Henkel, Ingeteam GmbH
  • Heiner Breuer, abakus solar AG
  • Dirk Kühnel, Deutsche Kreditbank AG
  • Christof Erban
  • Rafiq Iqbal, ABB STOTZ-KONTAKT GmbH
  • Dr. Achim Woyte, 3E, Brüssel
  • Prof. Dr. Volker Quaschning, Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft HTW Berlin Christoph Schmidt, Fachhochschule Nordhausen
  • Holger Loew
  • Joachim Laschinski, SMA Solar Technology AG
  • Dr. Jens Schneider, Fraunhofer CSP
  • Martin Denz, alfasolar GmbH
  • Ralf Haselhuhn, DGS
  • Markus Steinkötter, Sunnyside upP GmbH
  • Alexander Schorn , Schorn Energie GmbH & Co. KG
  • Richard Hübner, Schneider Electric
  • Richard Hübner, SOLERIS sprl – GmbH
  • Christian Brennig
  • Wolfgang Halder, Diehl AKO Stiftung & Co KG Thomas Kühefuß, Diehl AKO Stiftung & Co. KG Andreas Schlumberger, KACO new energy GmbH Carsten Körnig, Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft Bernd Dussel, activ solar Energietechnik GmbH Erhard Krausen, abakus solar AG
  • Felix Rasch, GEOSOL Gesellschaft für Solarenergie mbH Werner Müller, MHH Solartechnik GmbH
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