Spanning nearly 500 acres in western Martin County, Florida the first ever hybrid solar power plant connects a field of more than 190,000 solar thermal mirrors to an existing combined cycle natural gas power plant to produce energy. Known as the Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center, the one of a kind facility is owned by Florida Power & Light …
Solar Cell Developer Moving Toward Mass Production
The developer of a three-dimensional solar cell says it will be using the same low-cost processes for semiconductors to help them produce their energy cell on a mass scale. California-based Solar3D, who I profiled back in November, has announced it will use the semiconductor processes to build its unique solar cell design that traps sunlight inside micro-photovoltaic structures where photons …
EV Charging Stations Arrive in Kansas City
Electric vehicle (EV) charging stations have arrived in Kansas City, Missouri. Posty Cards has installed the first publicly available ChargePoint networked charging station in the KC metro area. The ChargePoint stations are the creation of Coulomb Technologies and were installed by Posty Cards as they attempt to have their new headquarters become Platinum LEED Certified. In addition to the new …
Calif. Senate Calls for 1/3 of Energy from Renewables
In a move that is already generating plenty of controversy (and I’m sure plenty of comments on this blog), the California State Senate has voted to require utilities in the state to get one-third of their energy from wind, solar and other renewables by the year 2020. The Los Angeles Times reports the measure moves up the requirement from 20 …
USDA: Wind, Solar & Methane Hits on the Farm
Solar panels, wind turbines and methane digesters are big hits on American farms and ranches, that according to a new survey from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The 2009 On-Farm Renewable Energy Production Survey, the first-ever nationwide survey that looked at renewable energy practices on America’s farms and ranches, shows that these types of energy sources have increased significantly over …
ZenithSolar to Build Two CHP Solar Stations in China
ZenithSolar Ltd. has announced plans to build two 10 megawatt (MW) combined heat and power (CHP) solar station in the Gansu province of China. Gansu is the home of 30 million people and is located in the northwestern part of the country, at the edge of the Gobi desert. As such, it has the best solar energy conditions in China …
SoloPower Receives $197 DOE Loan Guarantee
SoloPower, a manufacturer of flexible thin film solar cells and modules announced that it has received a conditional commitment from the U.S. DOE for a $197 million loan guarantee. The funds will be used to help complete construction of their manufacturing facility located in Wilsonville, Oregon, when complete, will produce around 400 MW of thin film photovoltaic (PV) modules each …
Trojan Battery Sponsors PV Solar Training Program
Trojan Battery Company has become a new sponsor of the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP). This is an entry-level certification program for renewable energy professionals based in North America. One of Trojan’s goal’s with this sponsorship is to provide support for the continuing development of industry standards for certification of photovoltaic (PV) system professionals. The company believes …
New Energy Tech. Debuts SolarWindow Application
A Maryland company has taken a big technological step forward in the solar power generation field. New Energy Technologies has announced it has moved up to a 12″x12″ square of a spray-on type of coating, known as SolarWindow. While a 12″x12″ square doesn’t sound very big, it wasn’t very long ago the company was working with areas smaller than a …
HyperSolar Makes Thin Solar Concentrator Prototype
Innovative solar cell maker HyperSolar has completed a prototype design of its new thin solar concentrator. As you might remember from my post from Oct. 26, 2010, the company is focusing increasing solar cell output by magnifying the sun’s rays: Tim Young, CEO of HyperSolar, commented, “Our ultimate goal is to develop an inexpensive and thin solar concentrator for use …