Long distance for everyone
The story of solar electricity: The eighth part of our series with chapters from John Perlins book From Space to Earth recounts how photovoltaics brought long distance telephone calls to people living in sparsely populated regions.
Mixed note
Ardour solar index: Fears of accelerated feed-in tariff cuts in Germany trigger a slide in solar stocks.
More than adhesives
3M: The U.S.-based technology firm is one of the pioneers in the development and application of adhesives. It is increasingly focusing on system solutions for the photovoltaics sector based on its experience from a wide range of applications.
PV in the eye of the beholder
Solar farms in the crossfire: Lower Bavaria is Germanys premier solar region. But now protests aimed at ground-mounted systems are growing. The town of Ruhstorf near the Austrian border shows how the conflict over solar farms can be de-escalated.
Solar makes a comeback
Japan: The global economic crisis has left Japans photovoltaic market almost completely untouched, and the industry is again gaining momentum. One of the driving forces for the domestic private household sector has been the recent incentive revision. The manufacturing industry has already announced multi-billion dollar investments. Foreign competitors, however, will still find it difficult to get a foothold on the market.
The cell doctor
Low-cost modules: Norways Innotech Solar repairs short-circuited solar cells that used to end up in smelters. A special laser process is used to repair defective cells, which are then processed into fully functional modules.
The future of soccer is green
Building integration: Sports club Werder Bremen is rebuilding its home field in Bremen, Germany, turning it from a multi-purpose venue into a dedicated soccer stadium. Regional energy supplier and sponsor EWE is working with Bremens municipal services to clad the building with photovoltaics, creating Germanys biggest building integrated array while simultaneously showing how solar power modules can provide an architectural solution.
The trouble with silicon
Triple Green, part 2: Silicon may be made of sand, but it is far from harmless. By the time the quartz becomes a module, it has lost its innocence. Nuclear power is used to smelt it, and the manufacturing process involves toxic chemicals and leaded fluxes and films. Crystalline solar technology is neither green nor clean but that could change. Part 2 of our series “Triple Green” on green energy, green recycling and green manufacturing.
Thumbing your nose at the wind
Flatroofs: Hall roofs with low load reserves can also be tapped for solar power production by using aerodynamic mounting systems. A strong market is developing for mounting systems that secure modules to flat roofs with minimal ballast and without penetrating the roof skin. Some manufacturers merely offer variations on conventional designs. But some product developers are thinking outside the box. A market overview.
