Knowledge

The Grid Parity Test: Comparing Apples to Oranges?

published: 2011-07-22 9:14
Many solar market pundits believe solar energy will reach grid parity within the next few years. Solar has crossed the boundaries of a supply-constrained market, to a market driven by demand-side dynamics. Firms that have manage...  more

PV-Assisted EV Charging Stations

published: 2011-07-21 17:24
With orders for EVs increasing thanks to a steady rise in gas prices, other businesses are flocking to cash in on the emerging EV charging station niche. In the United States alone, 14,000 government-funded EV charging stations be...  more

Italy's Solar Market Snapshot

published: 2011-07-21 10:46
Italy is seeking further renewable energy development boost from construction of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants. Yet, such effort does not help much to narrow the gap between the country’s development of CSP and tha...  more

Magnifying Solar Energy: CPV Technology

published: 2011-07-20 9:02
In eight minutes, light (in the form of emitted sunlight) crosses one hundred and fifty million kilometers and reaches the earth, bringing enough energy to power our energy-intensive lifestyles many times over. Expressed numerical...  more

PV Market: Can the U.S. Reclaim the Lead in Solar?

published: 2011-07-18 9:27
For decades, the photovoltaic (PV) industry has fought for its place among mainstream energy resources. Since 2004, the global PV market has been on a course of spectacular growth. In 2010, PV worldwide installed capacity reached ...  more

The Future of Silicon

published: 2011-07-15 9:15
Silicon is currently the most important raw material for the manufacture of PV panels. While PV manufacturing is high-tech, the technology that represents 80 percent of the global market has been around for 25 years and is fairl...  more

Solar Windows Help Advance the BIPV Market

published: 2011-07-14 15:10
Many countries now require double-pane glass in commercial building windows for energy efficiency. In between these panes there is usually a gas that helps to cut down on unwanted heat transfer. But these double-paned windows have...  more

How Quantum Dots could Make Solar Technology Better

published: 2011-07-12 9:16
Solar energy offers an attractive proposition: utilize this abundant energy well and the energy supply will be guaranteed.  This is an indication of how much insolation hits the earth, and even exploiting a fraction of this energy...  more

Innovations in BIPV: Will BIPV’s Growth Follow PV Market?

published: 2011-07-11 10:13
Building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) refers to solar materials incorporated into the design and construction of a building. Instead of using standard build materials, such as windows, roofing shingles, building envelops, builde...  more