Q Cells cracks efficiency records
Q-Cells, the cell supplier to Tindo Solar panels as used in Sydney, have announced some recent module efficiency breakthroughs. Commenting on the development, Greenforce Energy technology analyst, Balint Bakos said:”Following the recent Moser Baer announcement, this sort of progress is really a shot in the arm for the solar industry as we head into 2012.” In the announcement from Q-Cells, the company advised that it had reached new conversion efficiency records for boy poly and ‘quasi-mono’ solar modules. A...
read moreCoal power: be worried
Solar panels have always been our passion It’s no secret that the Greenforce Solar team have been solar cheerleaders for a long time, so it has been exciting to watch solar cell efficiency creep up bit by bit over the years. Simply put, the efficiency increase means less area is required, with lower associated costs like labour, transport and racks. This time it is different – a quantum leap in solar cell efficiency November 7 – The team at Sharp Solar now have a verified 36.9% efficiency for lab cells (tested by an...
read moreSave on lighting costs with task lighting
Sometimes, Sydneysiders and business owners are looking for ways to cut energy costs without spending money on retrofits, even if the retrofits make financial sense. In this case, you are best to look at opportunities for cutting the amount of time bulk lighting is turned on. This is especially applicable in situations where a small part of a larger space is used for a long time, yet only requires lighting in the whole space for part of the time. Adjusting lighting to match the level of activity is called task lighting. Task lighting is an...
read moreNSW Govt makes further cuts to Solar Bonus Scheme
Note: This information does not affect new applicants, who are able to connect but are not participants of the solar bonus scheme Under the cover of a media-hogging Harbour Bridge protest, the O’Farrell government announced the retrospective roll-back of the 60c tariff to 40c for existing systems. Changing the rules after the fact is just not cricket – especially with so many sunk costs involved. It is like charging you $5 for a train ticket, and then suddenly charging another $5 when you get to the destination...
read moreWestinghouse combines brand strength with Solar
Many large names such as Bosch, Sharp and BP have been involved with solar for a while. The pioneer of alternating current electricity distribution, global conglomerate Westinghouse has been dipping their toes in solar for a short while, and recently unveiled a large area solar panel with a tiny inverter built in. Subsidiary Westinghouse Solar, a designer and manufacturer of solar power systems, wowed critics with their second-generation AC solar panel – contrasting with the DC panels on the market. Similar ideas were initially trialled...
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