A good quality solar panel has a serviceable life of decades, but even after that time modules have value. A solar panel recycling initiative in Europe has ensured thousands of tonnes of old and broken modules have been given new life.
GE Energy will expand its presence in the lucrative Spanish solar energy market in a €111 million deal with German fund KGAL to buy into the 50 megawatt (MW) Extresol II concentrated solar power plant. Extresol II utilises molten salt technology for energy storage, allowing the plant to supply electricity at night.
Is there anything solar can’t do? Aside from bringing cheap, clean power to developing economies and assisting households in developed countries to slash their greenhouse gas emissions and electricity bills; it may also help an entire nation address its economic woes.
While solar’s ascent in 2010 was stunning, it would play an even bigger role in our energy mix and have achieved grid parity across many more markets already if fossil fuel subsidies were removed.
The coal industry has certainly contributed to Australia’s wealth, but like heroin destroys addicts and those around them, our coal buzz is helping to destroy the environment that supports us and rehab will be a costly affair.
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced a $60 million fund aimed at dramatically improving the efficiency of concentrated solar power (CSP) generation technology.
WWF is calling on the UK to clean up its act with the release of a new report outlining a plan for the country to source 60-90 percent of all its electricity from renewable energy by 2030.
The Solar Ship is a hybrid aircraft, combining aerodynamic lift, aerostatic lift and solar cell technology to create a long range, energy efficient cargo carrier.
Scientists from the U.S National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have developed a new furnace system for manufacturing solar cells they say could cut the cost of producing solar panels in the future.
When thinking about locations for solar farms, deserts often spring to mind – but colder climates can be just as good.
