Home: Renewable Energy News: Wednesday 18 March, 2009

Renewable Energy News

WEDNESDAY 18 MARCH, 2009 |

World Solar Panel Market Grew 110% In 2008

Solar panel installations boom
According to a report just released by SolarBuzz, world solar panel installations attained a record high of 5.95 gigawatts during 2008; growth of 110% over 2007.

Europe represented 82% of global demand in 2008, largely thanks to Spain's massive 285% growth that also saw it pushing Germany into second place in the market ranking. The common element that both these countries share and major factor in general uptake is the availability of gross feed in tariff incentive programs.

The US advanced to number three with 360 megawatts of solar panels installed, followed by Korea, Italy and Japan.

The solar panel industry generated USD$37.1 billion in revenue during last year, while successfully raising over USD$12.5 billion in equity and debt - representing an increase of 11% on 2007.

Global solar cell production reached 6.85 GW in 2008, up from 3.44 GW in 2007. Thin film solar panel production also recorded solid gains, up 123% in 2008 to reach 0.89 GW.

China and Taiwan continued to grab increased market share of global solar cell production, increasing to 44% in 2008; up from 35% in 2007.

Polysilicon supply to the solar industry grew by 127%, which substantially eased supply limitations experienced in previous years. The USA's polysilicon production accounted for 43% of the world's supplies.

While the 2008 average global crystalline module price increased by a modest 3% over 2007, a substantial fall in the material's cost was seen in the fourth quarter 2008. Initial first quarter 2009 data shows a decrease of 24% compared to the 2008 global weighted average.

Read more of the SolarBuzz report

PV And Solar Thermal Powered Hybrid Air Conditioner Unveiled

Chromasun - solar powered air conditioning
Solar powered air conditioning that doesn't require copious volumes of water or huge arrays of solar panels has been somewhat of a holy grail for the solar industry. Recently we reported on such a solar powered air conditioning unit under development in Australia and now there's a new player in the market - Chromasun.

Chromasun is a multifunction solar system, containing photovoltaic and solar thermal technology that harvest light and heat from the sun. While traditional solar cells are only able to convert up to 23 percent of light into electric power and solar thermal systems offer up 48%, Chromasun's makers claim 75 percent efficiency.

Measuring just over 3 meters by 1.3 metres, Chromasun contains mirrors, receivers and a concentrator, plus silicon solar cells.

Chromasun's system generates electricity from the cells and the waste heat is used to increase the temperature of water or an oil in a sealed tube to 220 degrees Celsius. The heat is then used to warm a solution containing a refrigerant which then boils away. When the solution and refrigerant are recombined, the temperature is much lower and can then be utilized to cool a room. The unit is best suited to hot, dry climates such as South and Western Australia.

The Chromasun system uses 95 percent less silicon than a conventional solar panel with the same power rating due to concentrator component. Spaces between the mirrors allow sunlight through which can be used to light the interior below.

Mass production of industrial units is expected in the first quarter of next year, with smaller devices for the residential market to follow later.

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