Unite WV Neighbors under the SUN
State-Wide Solar Congress Held at WVU in Morgantown
From the Report by April Pearson-Keating, Mountain Lakes Preservation Alliance, 12/14/16
Morgantown, WV – The first annual Solar Congress was held at WVU Law School last Saturday, Dec. 10, from 9a.m. – 3p.m. The event, hosted by WV Sun, was an educational and networking opportunity for those interested in learning more about solar power and how to get it.
Around 75 people attended the event. Several expert speakers held breakout sessions on issues surrounding energy policy in WV and the United States.
Karan Ireland, city councilperson of Charleston, WV, heads up WV Sun, an organization that works to educate people about distributed solar power, develop solar co-ops, and strengthen solar policy in WV. She said of the event, “We were very happy with the success of the first Solar Congress. People from around WV are eager to learn about solar and, more importantly, to advocate for good energy policy that encourages growth in the renewable energy sector. West Virginia is on the cusp of exciting times when it comes to solar.”
Six breakout sessions were held on relevant topics. Ireland discussed citizen lobbying and how to talk to one’s representatives about the issues that are important to them. Emmet Pepper discussed LEEP (Local Energy Efficiency Partnerships), an innovative way for commercial property owners and small business owners to pay for energy efficiency upgrades.
Colin Williams of Mountain View Solar, the oldest solar installer in WV, talked about third party financing, power purchasing agreements, and necessary legislative change.
Jim Kotcon of WV Sierra Club discussed the state of the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) in WV. In 2009, an RPS modeled after Pennsylvania’s was introduced by then Governor Manchin. By 2015, it was repealed, making WV one of only 12 states without a requirement to produce part of its energy from renewables (solar, wind, hydro, etc.).
James VanNostrand of the WVU Center for Energy and Sustainable Development discussed the different models and workings of community solar, in which groups can participate with utilities to get solar power based on renewable portfolio requirements and other legislation.
Dan Conant, of Solar Holler, reviewed Policies to ensure fair compensation for solar producers and discussed the value of solar power. He heads up the Coalfield Development Corporation that, with a Benedum Foundation grant, will train 10 new solar installers per year. Last year, this training doubled the number of solar installers in the state. This has been helpful to out-of-work coal communities.
Some interesting facts from the day included a photo of the solar array at Mountaineer World at Clarksburg exit; the facility also has “plugshare” or electric car chargers, a café, and, according to the speaker, “the best WVU gear anywhere.” It was also pointed out that PV (photovoltaic) panels are very durable; the first ones ever made are still operating today.
Solar co-ops make solar power more affordable by offering bulk discounts on materials and by calling for bids on the labor, driving prices down. Fortune Magazine reports “the cost of installing solar panels at big solar farms and on rooftops will drop 60% to an estimated average of around four cents per kilowatt hour by 2040,” according to a Bloomberg report. “That’s cheaper than coal and natural gas power in many regions.” There are currently 2 co-ops operating in the Mountain State, with 6 more coming in 2017 and a total of 11 in the past 2.5 years.
Autumn Long, of Harrison County, is the northern WV co-op leader. She notes, “I hope the Solar Congress will help increase the number of people throughout WV who are interested in the benefits that renewable energy can provide for our state’s citizens and communities.”
Ireland’s info session was about citizen lobbying for better solar policy. She noted that WV has a part-time legislature, and they need help from the citizenry to be informed. Every issue needs a face and a voice, change happens when advocates don’t give up, and face-to-face meetings are the best tool to make change.
The West Virginia state legislative session begins January 11, 2017.
See also: www.WVSUN.org
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Sun Solution Rises as Solar Fast Becoming World’s Cheapest Electricity Source
‘Solar investment has gone from nothing—literally nothing—like five years ago to quite a lot’
From an Article by Nadia Prupis, Common Dreams, December 16, 2016
For the first time, solar power is becoming the cheapest form of electricity production in the world, according to new statistics from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) released Thursday.
While unsubsidized solar has occasionally done better than coal and gas in individual projects, 2016 marked the first time that the renewable energy source has out-performed fossil fuels on a large scale—and new solar projects are also turning out to be cheaper than new wind power projects, BNEF reports in its new analysis, Climatescope.
The cost of solar in 58 developing nations dropped to about a third of 2010 levels, with China in particular adding a record number of solar projects. And as the Independent notes, solar “has proved a godsend for remote islands such as Ta’u, part of America Samoa, in the South Pacific.”
In fact, Ta’u has been able to abandon the use of fossil fuels altogether and power itself almost entirely on renewable energy.
“Solar investment has gone from nothing—literally nothing—like five years ago to quite a lot,” said Ethan Zindler, head of BNEF’s U.S. policy analysis.
BNEF chairman Michael Liebreich also told investors this week that “[r]enewables are robustly entering the era of undercutting” fossil fuel prices.
Unsurprisingly, developing countries are at the forefront of this advancement, having invested in clean energy economies to stave off the catastrophic effects of climate change at a greater rate than wealthy nations.
“[F]or populations still relying on expensive kerosene generators, or who have no electricity at all, and for those living in the dangerous smog of thickly populated cities,” Bloomberg reports, “the shift to renewables and increasingly to solar can’t come soon enough.”
Source: http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/12/16/sun-solution-rises-solar-fast-becoming-worlds-cheapest-electricity-source
PEROVSKITE SOLAR CELL HIT NEW WORLD EFFICIENCY RECORD
By Gordon Smith, Solar Thermal Magazine, December 3, 2016
Perovskite Solar Cell Hit New World Efficiency Record – Another Advancement For Perovskite Solar Cell.
One of the challenges for today’s silicon based solar cells is that they are heavy and rigid which forces the requirement for strong and robust attachements and supports. This all adds to the cost for installation and the overall cost of the solar power installation.
There is another option that is developing quickly which is a technology known as perovskite solar cell and it is something that we really need to watch for.
They’re flexible, cheap to produce and simple to make – which is why perovskites are the hottest new material in solar cell design. And now, engineers at Australia’s University of New South Wales in Sydney have smashed the trendy new compound’s world efficiency record.
Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Solar Research Conference in Canberra on Friday 2 December, Anita Ho-Baillie, a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics (ACAP), announced that her team at UNSW has achieved the highest efficiency rating with the largest perovskite solar cells to date.
The 12.1% efficiency rating was for a 16 cm2 perovskite solar cell, the largest single perovskite photovoltaic cell certified with the highest energy conversion efficiency, and was independently confirmed by the international testing centre Newport Corp, in Bozeman, Montana. The new cell is at least 10 times bigger than the current certified high-efficiency perovskite solar cells on record.
The Future For The Perovskite Solar Cell
Her team has also achieved an 18% efficiency rating on a 1.2 cm2 single perovskite cell, and an 11.5% for a 16 cm2 four-cell perovskite mini-module, both independently certified by Newport.
“This is a very hot area of research, with many teams competing to advance photovoltaic design,” said Ho-Baillie.
Perovskites came out of nowhere in 2009, with an efficiency rating of 3.8%, and have since grown in leaps and bounds. These results place UNSW amongst the best groups in the world producing state-of-the-art high-performance perovskite solar cells. And I think we can get to 24% within a year or so.
Perovskite is a structured compound, where a hybrid organic-inorganic lead or tin halide-based material acts as the light-harvesting active layer. They are the fastest-advancing solar technology to date, and are attractive because the compound is cheap to produce and simple to manufacture, and can even be sprayed onto surfaces.
“The versatility of solution deposition of perovskite makes it possible to spray-coat, print or paint on solar cells,” said Ho-Baillie.
The diversity of chemical compositions also allows cells be transparent, or made of different colours. Imagine being able to cover every surface of buildings, devices and cars with solar cells.
Most of the world’s commercial solar cells are made from a refined, highly purified silicon crystal and, like the most efficient commercial silicon cells (known as PERC cells and invented at UNSW), need to be baked above 800?C in multiple high-temperature steps. Perovskites, on the other hand, are made at low temperatures and 200 times thinner than silicon cells.
But although perovskites hold much promise for cost-effective solar energy, they are currently prone to fluctuating temperatures and moisture, making them last only a few months without protection. Along with every other team in the world, Ho-Baillie’s is trying to extend its durability. Thanks to what engineers learned from more than 40 years of work with layered silicon, they’re are confident they can extend this.
Nevertheless, there are many existing applications where even disposable low-cost, high-efficiency solar cells could be attractive, such as use in disaster response, device charging and lighting in electricity-poor regions of the world. Perovskite solar cells also have the highest power to weight ratio amongst viable photovoltaic technologies.
“We will capitalise on the advantages of perovskites and continue to tackle issues important for commercialisation, like scaling to larger areas and improving cell durability,” said Martin Green, Director of the ACAP and Ho-Baillie’s mentor.
The project’s goal is to lift perovskite solar cell efficiency to 26%.
The research is part of a collaboration backed by $3.6 million in funding through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s (ARENA) ‘solar excellence’ initiative. ARENA’s CEO Ivor Frischknecht said the achievement demonstrated the importance of supporting early stage renewable energy technologies: “In the future, this world-leading R&D could deliver efficiency wins for households and businesses through rooftop solar as well as for big solar projects like those being advanced through ARENA’s investment in large-scale solar.”
To make a perovskite solar cells, engineers grow crystals into a structure known as ‘perovskite’, named after Lev Perovski, the Russian mineralogist who discovered it. They first dissolve a selection of compounds in a liquid to make the ‘ink’, then deposit this on a specialised glass which can conduct electricity. When the ink dries, it leaves behind a thin film that crystallises on top of the glass when mild heat is applied, resulting in a thin layer of perovskite crystals.
The tricky part is growing a thin film of perovskite crystals so the resulting solar cell absorbs a maximum amount of light. Worldwide, engineers are working to create smooth and regular layers of perovskite with large crystal grain sizes in order to increase photovoltaic yields.
Ho-Baillie, who obtained her PhD at UNSW in 2004, is a former chief engineer for Solar Sailor, an Australian company which integrates solar cells into purpose-designed commercial marine ferries which currently ply waterways in Sydney, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Source: https://solarthermalmagazine.com/2016/12/03/perovskite-solar-cells-hit-new-world-efficiency-record/
Gordon Smith’s expertise in the area of industrial energy efficiency and alternative energy. He is an experienced electrical engineer with a Masters degree in Alternative Energy technology. He is the co-founder of several renewable energy media sites including Solar Thermal Magazine.
See also: http://www.FrackCheckWV.net
World’s first solar road opens in France
Let’s hope it’s the sunny side of the street
[Photo by Frederic Stevens/Getty Images]
A small town in Normandy, France, claims to have become the first place in the world to install a solar-power road, in a bid to run the local streetlights.
The 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) stretch of road in the small village of Tourouvre-au-Perche was built at the cost of €5 million ($5.2 million) and was inaugurated Thursday by the French ecology minister, Ségolène Royal, according to a report in The Guardian.
The road consists of 2,800 square meters of solar panels and is covered with a coating protecting it from the 2,000 or so vehicles that will travel over it every day.
This year, Missouri announced plans to upgrade part of the iconic US Route 66 with solar cells.
Source: https://www.cnet.com/news/worlds-first-solar-road-opens-in-france/?ftag=COS-05-10-aa0a&linkId=32678735
See also: http://www.FrackCheckWV.net