solar – Page 2 – TechConnect Briefs

Greening and Growing the Grid: Utility-Scale Solar 101

Alcombright D., SOLON Corporation, US

With the growth of renewable portfolio standards, rising electricity rates and increasing peak load demands, U.S. utilities are seeking new solutions to meet their renewable energy needs. Scalability, cost and reliability have been the primary [...]

An Ab Initio Study of CuGaSe2 (001) Surface

Chew S., Liborio L., Harrison N., Imperial College London, UK

The chalcopyrite material CuIn1-xGaxSe2 makes one of the best performing devices for thin film solar cells. Despite this, there is still a lack of understanding of some of the fundamental properties of the material. CuGaSe2 [...]

Protecting Green Technology and Green Brands: Strategies for Getting Your Eco-Patents and Eco-Marks Through the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office

Lane E.L., Luce Forward / Green Patent Blog, US

I. From PV manufacturing to geothermal drilling and from gasification to wind turbines, many of the most successful clean energy technologies were previously developed in other industries and only later adapted to for use in [...]

Johnson Space Center’s Solar and Wind-based Renewable Energy System

Vasquez A., Ewert M., Rowlands J., Post K., NASA Johnson Space Center, US

This paper will present performance data and comparisons from a 32 kW solar and wind based renewable enery system installed at the NASA Johnson Space Center. The system provides a web-based performance and weather data [...]

Johnson Space Center’s Solar and Wind-based Renewable Energy System

Vasquez A., Ewert M., Rowlands J., Post K., NASA Johnson Space Center, US

This paper will present performance data and comparisons from a 32 kW solar and wind based renewable enery system installed at the NASA Johnson Space Center. The system provides a web-based performance and weather data [...]

Renewable Hydrogen Production Around the Globe

Deason K., Smith A., SENTECH, Inc., US

Survey of demonstration projects involving renewably produced hydrogen around the world.

A Hybrid Approach to Carbon Reductions in Existing Homes: Deep Efficiency and Renewables

Knox B., GreenHomes America, US

Existing homes are responsible for 20% of America’s energy consumption and over 10% of worldwide energy consumption. The least expensive and most effective way to provide additional energy throughout the world is to make existing [...]

An “Atmospherically Healthy” Recipe for Carbon-Neutral Fuels: A synthetic fuel made from sunlight, CO2, and water

Littau K., Palo Alto Research Center (Parc), US

Although carbon capture and storage has been proposed as an effective means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, this is not a realistic solution for mobile emitters where the capture system would need to be carried [...]

Enhanced Photocurrent in Transparent Lead Zirconate-Titanate Thin Film Capacitors Under Sun Light Illumination

Ocola L.E., Li H., Auciello O., Argonne National Laboratory, US

A report will be presented on research focused on developing transparent Pb(ZrxTi1-xO3) (PZT)–based capacitor for photovoltaic device applications. The transparent PZT-based capacitors exhibit high photocurrents when exposed to Xenon (Xe) light that has wavelengths from [...]

The Influence of Rebates and Incentives on the Solar Industry; What Obstacles Remain for US National Adoption of Solar PV?

Neagle B., Borrego Solar Systems, US

In 2006, 1,744MW of solar capacity was installed in the world. The United States only contributed 8% or 140 MW, while other countries such as Germany and Japan set new records for solar energy in [...]