California houses with solar worth more

Source: Solar Daily News just in : researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have recently used the results of a house pricing study to confirm what many have thought for some time: Solar PV on rooftops attracts the attention of buyers, and a premium. In the Solar Daily article, the lead author Ben Hoen elaborated was excited to be amongst the first to confirm this using scientific methods. “We find compelling evidence that solar PV systems in California have boosted home sales...

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New technique speeds cell production

Netherlands, Delft — TU Delft has demonstrated that the speed at which relatively inefficient but inexpensive amorphous solar cells are produced can be increased by a factor of ten. This means more solar panels can be produced per day from a given capital investment. Whilst the basic production technique used was developed by Eindhoven University of Technology; Michael Wank’s project, which was subsidised by Agentschap NL, used a special method to overcome the disadvantages of heat introduced in the original Eindhoven project. The...

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Westinghouse 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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Boeing goes solar

(summary of news from Associated Press, CNN, ABC) Not content with using solar power on its satellites, and energy saving carbon-composite panels on its new Dreamliner, the Boeing Company has decided to completely cover the roof of its Dreamliner assembly centre with solar panels. The more than 18000 thin film laminate panels will be laid flat on the surface, and are expected to provide up to 2.6 megawatts of electrical generation capacity — enough to power about 250 homes. It will be the sixth largest solar installation by...

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Chinchilla solar project to cut coal consumption

The largest solar thermal project in Australia is coming to Queensland’s rural town of Chinchilla. Many residents in nearby areas already use solar thermal technology in their rooftop solar hot water systems. The Federal government in partnership with the state government have approved one of the biggest solar thermal projects in the world and confirmed funding to build a solar energy system on the site of an exisiting coal-fired power station near Chinchilla in Queensland. This type of arrangement is known as a complementary or hybrid...

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Conergy installs 2MW Plant

Germany-based Conergy has finished a 2.2 MW PV plant in Brandenburg, Germany. Conergy says it installed 27,300 modules on its own Conergy mounting systems in just six weeks. Power from the plant is fed into the network with the help of 130 units of Conergy’s new IPG 15 T inverters. The plant is expected to produce at least 2,134 MWh of electricity annually.

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SMA HF Series inverters now available

Cutting edge SMA Sunny Boy HF Series Solar Inverters are now available at Greenforce In partnership with RFI and BP Solar, we are proud to announce the arrival of the narrow profile SMA HF series, high efficiency inverters that keep many of the safety benefits of transformer based inverters. With leading conversion efficiency of up to 96% (depending on input power level) and numerous other technological innovations, the Sunny Boy HF series provides a secure yet even faster return on solar power system investment. Like the TL series of...

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BP Solar building massive USA plant

Houston, USA — Industry leader BP Solar and American financial group MetLife inked an agreement confirming joint ownership of the Long Island Solar Farm, a giant 32 MW solar PV generation plant in Upton, New York. BP Solar is leveraging its manufacturing and engineering capacity to build the plant, and will operate and maintain the 200-acre facility, whilst MetLife is an investor partner. All solar energy generated from the facility will be sold under a 20-year power purchase agreement to the Long Island Power Authority. The solar park,...

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BP Solar completes ‘Solar Flagships’ submission

BP Solar (together with project partners including Pacific Hydro) applied for funding under the Solar Photovoltaic (PV) technology category in round one of the program and off the strength of BP Solar’s previous projects was successfully shortlisted in May 2010. Based in the country NSW town of Moree, the BP Solar/FRV/Pacific Hydro’s  Solar Flagships project in not just ambitious, but is set to be one of the planet’s largest solar PV electric generation facilities.

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RECs multiplier changes

The federal government , via Minister for Climate Change & Energy Efficiency, the Hon Greg Combet MP, has announced changes to the controversial ‘Solar Credits Scheme’, a segment of the Renewable Energy Target legislation providing support to the capital cost of small solar generation systems. The effect of the changes will be that homeowners will receive less financial support through the program than at the current time, starting from July 1st. The scheme’s details are best explained at...

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