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solar permitting

Solar Energy & Solar Power Facts

by Zach June 29, 2013

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.

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

Overall world solar cell efficiency record (also the concentrator triple-junction solar cell efficiency record) — 44.7% (Fraunhofer ISE)
Triple-junction, non-concentrator solar cell efficiency record — 37.9% (Sharp)
Two-junction, concentrator solar cell efficiency record — 32.6% (IES–UPM)
Two-junction solar cell conversion efficiency record under one sun of illumination — 31.1% (NREL)
Single-junction, concentrator solar cell efficiency record — 29.1% (FhG–ISE)
Single-junction, GaAs, thin-film crystal solar cell efficiency record — 28.8% (Alta Devices)
Crystalline silicon solar cell efficiency record — 25.6% (Panasonic)
Amorphous and monocrystalline silicon solar cell efficiency record — 21.4% (EPFL Institute of Microengineering)
P-type mono-crystalline silicon solar cell efficiency record — 21.4% (Trina Solar)
Thin-film solar cell efficiency record (CdTe) — 21% (First Solar)
CIS thin-film solar cell efficiency record — 20.9% (Solar Frontier)
CIGS thin-film solar cell efficiency record — 20.8% (Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg — ZSW)
P-type multi-crystalline silicon solar cell efficiency record — 20.5% (Trina Solar)
Black silicon solar cell efficiency record — 18.7% (Fraunhofer ISE & Aalto University)
CZTS solar cell efficiency record — 12.6% (Solar Frontier, IBM, & TOK)
Single-junction microcrystalline silicon solar cell efficiency record — 10.7% (EPFL Institute of Microengineering)
Plasmonic polymer solar cell efficiency record — 8.92% (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology)
Graphene solar cell efficiency record — 8.6% (University of Florida)

Solar Module Efficiency Records

Overall solar PV module efficiency record (also the CPV module efficiency record) — 36.7% (Fraunhofer ISE)
Outdoor solar PV (and CPV) module efficiency record — 34.9% (Amonix)
Commercial CPV module efficiency record — 31.8% (Soitec)
Commercial solar module efficiency record — 21.5% (SunPower)
Leading solar modules in solar module yield field tests — SunPower SPR-327NE-WHT-D modules
Thin-film solar module aperture efficiency record — 17.4% (Q-Cells)
Cadmium-telluride (CdTe) photovoltaic (PV) module conversion efficiency record — 16.1% (First Solar)
CIGS thin-film solar module efficiency record — 15.7% (Samsung)
Flexible PV solar module efficiency record — 15.5% (MiaSolé )
Monolithically integrated, commercially available CIGS module efficiency record — 13.4% (Stion) (also holds the 14.8% aperture efficiency record for such modules) and 13.4% (SoloPower)

Largest Solar Power Plants

Largest “collection” of solar power plants: 600 MW — Gujarat Solar Park
Largest solar power plant under construction: 579 MW — Antelope Valley Solar Project
Largest solar PV power plant completed: 550 MW — Topaz Solar Farm

CSP

Largest concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) plant under construction: 392 MW — Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System
Largest single-unit CSP plant completed: 100 MW — Shams 1

CPV

Largest concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) solar power plant: 37 MW — Alamosa Solar Generating Project

Solar Market Leaders

Global

Solar Power (MW) Per Million People (End of 2012): 398.63 — Germany
New Solar Power (MW) Per Million People In 2012: 108.98 — Bulgaria
Solar Power (MW) Per $1 Billion GDP (End of 2012): 17.8 — Bulgaria
New Solar Power (MW) Per $1 Billion GDP In 2012: 15.03 — Bulgaria
Solar Peak Power Output Record: 22.68 GW — Germany
Single-Year Solar Power Installation Record: 7.6 GW — Germany

Solar Power (W) Per Capita (End of 2012): 166.9 — Arizona
New Solar Power (W) Per Capita In 2012: 108.39 — Arizona

Module Manufacturers & Developers

#1 solar module manufacturer (2012) — Yingli Green Energy
#1 utility-scale solar developer in world — First Solar
#1 EPC solar contractor in the world — First Solar

Solar Vehicles

1st solar-powered airplane to cross the US: Solar Impulse
1st solar-powered airplane to fly for 24 hours nonstop: Solar Impulse
1st solar-powered airplane to fly for 48 hours nonstop: Solar Impulse
Solar-powered aviation world distance record on a single flight: 832 NM/ 1’541 km — Solar Impulse

June 29, 2013 17 comments

Policy Research PV Rooftop Solar Solar Policy Solar Research

Solar Permitting Site Gets More Data, New Features

by Zach June 24, 2013

written by Zach

Update: I just received a note from Clean Power Finance (CPF) that corrects and clarifies some important points I was not previously aware of. Here’s the full note from CPF:

We are working jointly with ProjectPermit.org, as they are pulling a subset of our data to do their rankings. The same data that is found in their database thus can be found in ours. The main difference is that their goal is active advocacy and will therefore be pushing for reforms. SolarPermit.org is an unbiased repository of information with the overriding goal of increasing transparency for all stakeholders—with a particular emphasis on the installer, as they are the ones who bear the brunt of permitting costs. That’s why we include additional information that ProjectPermit.org doesn’t have (e.g. which NEC code they use or load requirements).

Additionally, the database is also designed to engage the AHJs themselves, as we are looking to reduce the misunderstanding and miscommunication that frequently occurs between the installer and the AHJs, which in turn drives up cost for both sides. SolarPermit.org will thus not make judgments on AHJs, lest we scare away an important set of contributors to the database.

Finally, it should be noted that the two projects are complementary, not competing. The redesign of the database was timed specifically with Vote Solar’s launch. One of the reasons we did not make a big announcement is because we didn’t want to steal Vote Solar’s thunder and give the impression that the two projects were competing. Moreover, the public should think of us as the official, objective scorekeeper and the Vote Solar is the color commentator interpreting the stats that we are collecting.

It’s no secret — permitting requirements for solar power are one of the key things that need to be improved in order to get more solar power installed across the US. Recently, a new site — Project Permit — was launched to help that along. Now, Clean Power Finance has announced that its solar permitting site — SolarPermit.org — has been revamped to also help the process along. “SolarPermit.org hosts the National Solar Permitting Database, a free, online database of solar permitting requirements for cities and counties across the country,” Clean Power Finance wrote in an email to me. “Developed by Clean Power Finance and supported by a Department of Energy grant, SolarPermit.org organizes and simplifies the solar permitting process by compiling permitting information in a single location. Using a community-based platform, users of the database keep the information up-to-date and relevant.”

The database includes information for about 80% of the “most popular” jurisdictions. What does “most popular” mean? It means jurisdictions that have 200+ residential solar installations per year. Information you can find in the database includes: “contact information, turnaround times, fees, specifications for system designs, inspection processes and common errors.”

As a user, you can also input information and vote on information provided to help validate it. if you’re an installer or involved in the permitting process in any way, check out SolarPermit.org when you have a sec.

June 24, 2013 2 comments

Going Solar PV Rooftop Solar Solar Policy

Palo Alto Streamlines Residential Solar Permitting Process

by Zach June 11, 2013

written by Zach

Solar permitting, obsessively onerous, is one of the biggest obstacles holding back even faster solar energy growth across the United States. Several studies have identified this, and have identified permitting as one reason why solar power is about twice as expensive in the US as in Germany.

So, it’s great to hear that Palo Alto, CA (one of my favorite cities in the world) has just streamlined its residential solar permitting process. (Note: it is also one of just a few North American municipalities that has a solar feed-in tariff, the #1 driver of solar power growth around the world.)

Solar panels in Palo Alto. Admittedly, not residential ones. Photo Credit: Richard Masoner / Cyclelicious / Foter.com / CC BY-SA

June 11, 2013 0 comment