GE targeting First Solar in battle for film thin sales
By MB-BigB | March 21, 2010
General Electric announced this week that they’re going to be focusing on thin film solar cells for their future solar power product lines. In doing so, GE will be taking on industry leader First Solar, which is the leading producer of low cost cadmium telluride (cad tel) thin film solar cells. First Solar also has the most efficient manufacturing process in the industry – they were the first company to make solar modules for under $1 per watt.
While GE currently makes traditional silicon based solar cells, they feel that this move into solar makes sense to them. A couple of years ago, GE invested in PrimeStar – a startup focusing on cad tel solar cells, and became the majority shareholder in the company in 2008. GE will be further partnering with PrimeStar to make these new cells. Danielle Merfeld, solar technology platform leader at GE’s Niskayuna, NY research facility, said, ““We think cad tel fundamentally has better cost structure than other thin-film technologies. The combination of efficiency that we think we can get to, the yield of the manufacturing line, the cost of manufacturing, and the cost of raw materials–the combination gives us the best outcome for making electricity.” Merfeld also said that GE believes that it can hit the market with a product that is more efficient than the 11% efficient cells that First Solar makes, and that they expect to go into commercial production in 2011, targeting utilities and large scale solar parks.
First Solar won’t give up so easy. They’ve been pushing hard to make inroads with the utility companies and have signed a number of deals to build large scale solar parking in the US, the Middle East, and other places.
Topics: Solar Power | No Comments »
Transonic Combustion developing ultra-efficient gasoline engine
By MB-BigB | March 18, 2010
Hybrids aren’t the only way to increase fuel economy and reduce emissions. A startup company based in Camarillo, CA – Transonic Combustion, has developed a new type of fuel injection system that they say can improve a gasoline engine’s efficiency by more than 50%. A recent test vehicle fitted with the new engine, got 64 miles per gallon in highway driving.
The Transonic Combustion TSCi system heats and pressurizes the gasoline before injecting it into the combustion chamber. The heat and pressure puts the gasoline into a ’supercritical state’ that enables the fuel to get very fast and clean combustion, which increase energy output and reduces the amount of fuel needed to move the car. Transonic also uses a catalyst as part of their process to treat the gasoline before its injected, which further enhances combustion. The Transonic method differs from other fuel injection system in that it uses supercritical fuel and doesn’t need a spark for ignition – the heat and pressure from the fuel mixed with air is enough to make the fuel combust without needing a spark, which is similar to what happens in diesel engines.
Transonic has says that their system allows for an engine to run on all different types of fuels - gasoline, diesel, biodiesel, heptane, ethanol, and vegetable oil. They recently setup a test engine and were able to achieve “seamless operation alternating between several different fuels on one of our customer’s engines in our Camarillo test facilities.” The best part of this is that the company feels that their system would only cost about as much as other fuel-injection systems currently on the market. If true, this could lead to hybrid type gas mileage at a much lower price point.
Topics: hybrid and electric cars | 3 Comments »
Google continuing alternative energy push by developing prototype mirror for solar thermal power
By MB-BigB | March 14, 2010
Google.org, the company’s philanthropic group, has been investing in alternative power research for awhile now. Recently, Google came out with a pretty significant announcement – they’ve developed a prototype mirror that could cut the cost of solar thermal power in half. In any solar thermal plant, the mirrors are the most expensive part, and its the mirrors that do most of the work – they focus the sunlight on the liquid that powers the turbines. Bill Weihl, Google’s green energy czar, told Reuters that Google feels that these new mirrors could cut the cost of a solar thermal plant in half. While they’re not providing many details, Google is saying that the company has been using “unusual materials” for both the mirrored surface and the substrate – which might mean no metal and no glass in the Google mirrors. Weihl feels that their prototype could be market ready in one to three years, in which case the Google mirrors could certainly be used by both BrightSource Energy and eSolar – the two largest solar thermal companies in the US and two companies that Google has invested a substantial amount of money in.
via : BNET
Topics: Solar Power | 1 Comment »
CNET drives a Chevy Volt
By MB-BigB | March 13, 2010
GM showed off some of its upcoming plug-in electric hybrid Chevy Volts this week, at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas, by letting a bunch of media types and assorted scene maker drive them around a closed course. CNET reporter Caroline McCarthy was one of those lucky 75, and she provides a few of her impressions of the car, along with lots of pictures. Click here if you’re interested.
Topics: hybrid and electric cars | 1 Comment »
Treehugger test drives the Volkswagen 2011 Touareg hybrid
By MB-BigB | March 10, 2010
Treehugger.com reports that the new VW 2011 Touareg hybrid, the first hybrid to come from Volkswagen, will get between 20 mpg in the city, and 27 mpg on the highway. And despite Treehugger’s normal adversion to big gas guzzling SUV’s, they liked the driving experience. After all, if people are still going to buy SUV’s, they might as well drive a more fuel efficient one.
So head on over to Treehugger.com if you’re interested.
Oh, and Motor Trend likes the car too.
Topics: Uncategorized, hybrid and electric cars | No Comments »
Pure Wafer makes its solar cells from scraps
By MB-BigB | March 6, 2010
A UK based silicon wafer recycling company named Pure Wafer has announced that it will start manufacturing high efficiency solar cells from the scrap material it processes. Pure Wafer’s core business is to help semiconductor manufacturers “gain further efficiencies through the increased re-use of silicon test wafers within their production processes.” Now Pure Wafer says that it has developed a process to develop solar cells out of recycled silicon materials. The company says that by using scrap silicon, their cells will have a “much lower carbon print than the majority of conventional solar cells available on the market.”
In a statement, the company said: “In order to expedite the move to mass production of its solar offerings, Pure Wafer is prudently investing an initial amount in equipment to manufacture solar panels from its own solar cells thus providing a wholly UK manufactured product. These products will enable Pure Wafer to offer complete solar systems and solutions to its customers, ranging from single dwellings to large public and commercial buildings. Pure Wafer has started to receive initial orders for its new products and services, and the level of interest and inquiries are encouraging.”
via: WalesOnline
Topics: Solar Power | No Comments »
Wired: 10 Companies Reinventing our Energy Infrastructure
By MB-BigB | March 3, 2010
Wired Science has an article today on 10 companies that are “reinventing our energy infrastructure.” The 10 companies they talk about recently presented at a Department of Energy ARPA-E symposium and covered everything from “the actual wires that power is transmitted on to the waste heat produced in industrial processes.” Hit the link for the 10 companies.
via: Wired Science Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: alternative energy | 1 Comment »
Lots of questions, and only some answers, about the Bloom Box
By MB-BigB | February 28, 2010
But while Bloom Energy showed off their “power plant in a box” at an event this week, which included lots of execs from the companies already using them, lots of questions remain. The biggest questions concern reliability and costs – fuel cells don’t have the greatest track record for lasting all that long, and the units will need to last at least 10 years before you’ll see widespread adoption.
Here’s some links if you want to read more:
Forbes works through the nubers in “Doing the Math on Bloom Energy”
MSNBC has “10 questions about the Bloom Energy Server”
Ecogeek finds the Bloom press releases to by annoying.
IT World – Bloom Energy: What We know, What We Don’t
Topics: Fuel Cells | No Comments »
The latest federal tax breaks for hybrid buyers
By MB-BigB | February 28, 2010
If you’re interested in buying a hybrid, the rules for federal tax breaks on your hybrid purchase can be somewhat confusing. Some breaks for models such as the Prius have been phased out entirely, while others, such as one for a Ford Fusion Hybrid, are being phased out this year (March 31 for the Fusion, so hurry if you want one).
www.fueleconomy.gov has the latest list
Topics: hybrid and electric cars | No Comments »
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders – on why “It’s time for a solar revolution”
By MB-BigB | February 21, 2010
The Independent senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, speaks his mind in today’s Burlington Free Press on why he feels the US needs a “Solar Revolution”, and why he’s sponsored the “Ten Million Solar Roofs Act” .
“Thomas Edison, one of history’s greatest inventors, said, “I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.”
Topics: Solar Power | 1 Comment »
