Solar Breakthroughs: Promises from the Sun God

Silicon Valley researchers have developed a promising new "Xtreme Concentrating Photovoltaics (XCPV) system that can generate electricity at 5 cents/KWH--as cheaply as coal!

Sunrgi, based in Hollywood with a research office in Silicon Valley, says it can produce devices that magnify sunlight and produce electricity at 5 cents a kilowatt-hour, or about the cost of coal-generated electricity.

At the National Energy Marketers Association conference in Washington, D.C., today, Sunrgi will make its presence known with an announcement that it plans to start selling its Xtreme Concentrated Photovoltaics, or XCPV, product in 2009. MercuryNews

Meanwhile at the University of Tel Aviv, researchers have announced a way to produce highly efficient solar cells at a cost only 1/100ths of current PV production costs!

The scientists applied genetic engineering and nanotechnology for the construction of a hybrid nano -- bio, solid state device. According to the researchers, although using photosynthesis for photovoltaic application is not new, their specific technique is the first to enable the production of useful photosynthesis-based photovoltaic cells.

...The researchers suggest existing silicon based photovoltaic cells offer low average energy conversion efficiency of 12-14 percent, while their system is capable of efficiencies of about 25 percent. They based their photovoltaic device on genetically engineered dry proteins photosystem I (PS I), encapsulated in solid state substrate bottom metal and a top transparent electrode.

...Larry Loev, director of business development for high technologies at Ramot told EETimes the low cost of the proposed device is based on the low cost of PS I in comparison to silicon. While one square meter of PS I should cost around $1, a similar area made of silicon should cost around $200. __More Details at CheckBiotech

The U. Tel Aviv approach incorporates a number of unique approaches to the light-to-electricity problem. Time will tell how well the approach will scale up, and hold up under harsh real world conditions.

Finally, far from the jealous eyes of the Sun God, deep within the bowels of the Earth, other scientists are devising ways of stealing more energy from heavy/solid oils, and from abandoned coal deposits. British and Canadian scientists are proposing to infuse heavy oil and coal deposits with an aqueous mix containing special microbes that over time will convert coal and heavy oil to methane--releasing the epochs-old energy as a free gas to be tapped nearer to the surface.

H/T NextEnergyNews
More at Al Fin Energy
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Solar Thermal Kicking PV's Arse

Solar thermal energy plants have advantages over photovoltaics (PV) plants. Thermal energy is easier to store than electrical energy, for matching production to load. In addition, solar thermal is more efficient than PV. And, electricity from solar thermal plants can be produced by steam turbine driven generators, in three phase AC--just like in the most common form of electrical power systems. Eleven solar thermal companies are currently vying for desert space in the US Southwest.

California’s Mojave desert sure is getting crowded as more and more companies are raising money in an effort to build large solar power plants to harness the sun’s heat. Yesterday, eSolar said it had raised a massive $130 million from the likes of Google and Idealab for its small-scale solar thermal designs, while Stirling also said it had raised $100M from Irish renewable energy developer NTR for its SunCatcher solar thermal dishes. And this morning Infinia, which makes Stirling engines for solar thermal, said it had raised $57 million in a second round of funding. __Read more at earth2techfor information about 11 solar thermal companies

eSolar has been quite successful in raising funding, and has developed a modular design to match the power plant to the available land and required power loads.

Based on eSolar’s 33 MW pre-fab form-factor, the company’s modular design translates to minimal land requirements and are tailored to fit local resources and produce a low environmental footprint, favoring a straightforward sitting and permitting process. Various locations with multitude interconnection options mean that eSolar can deliver more clean, carbon free power where it is needed; close to the cities and towns where it is consumed.

“The eSolar power plant is based on mass manufactured components, and designed for rapid construction, uniform modularity, and unlimited scalability,” said Asif Ansari, CEO of eSolar. “Rather than over-engineering the solution, eSolar’s smart scalable solar architecture targets what we see as the four key business obstacles facing the sector: price, scalability, rapid deployment, and grid impact.”

eSolar’s approach to power plant design revolves around a tiered delivery model, beginning with a 25 MW base unit, called a module, consisting of several thermal receiver towers, each with a field of heliostats. These modules are replicated as many times as necessary to fit specific power requirements. ___ImpactLab

The rush is on to cash in on abundant solar energy in the desert regions of the US, in Spain, and soon the Persian Gulf countries. Solar thermal plants range from the 25 MW eSolar module up to 500 the MW installation being installed by Stirling Energy Systems, which can be expandable to over 850 MW eventually.

Someday, PV will be ready to compete with solar thermal. But that day will not appear within the next 15 or 20 years.

And if you need a lot of baseload energy--in the multi-GW range--nuclear is still your best bet for large scale baseload energy, other than coal.

The US is unfortunate in having what appears to be an incompetent US Congress at this time, on energy matters. The current US Congress seems determined to choke US energy sources and to create a large scale economic crisis in the US economy. I say the Congress "seems determined" to do this. If there is a better explanation for the extreme incompetence of the US Congress on energy matters, I am open to hearing it. Perhaps the Congress is simply stupid. That is possible. I prefer stupid over criminal.