Solar Energy News

December 15, 2013

NREL Reports Soft Costs Now Largest Piece of Solar Installation Total Cost
Golden CO (SPX) Dec 12, 2013
Two detailed reports from the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) find that solar financing and other non-hardware costs - often referred to as "soft costs" - now comprise up to 64% of the total price of residential solar energy systems, reflecting how soft costs are becoming an increasingly larger fraction of the cost of installing solar. "The two new reports, along with previous reports, provide a comprehensive look at the full cost of installing solar, while delineat ... read more

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Quantum waves at the heart of organic solar cells By using an ultrafast camera, scientists say they have observed the very first instants following the absorption of light into artificial yet organic nanostructures and found that charges not only f ... more		Solar cell degradation observed directly for the first time With the help of DESY's X-ray light source PETRA III, researchers of Technische Universitat Munchen have, for the first time, watched organic solar cells degrade in real time. This work could open n ... more		Research team finds way to make solar cells thin, efficient and flexible Converting sunshine into electricity is not difficult, but doing so efficiently and on a large scale is one of the reasons why people still rely on the electric grid and not a national solar cell ne ... more
				Rooftop solar powers past new milestone More than 3 gigawatts of solar power has now been installed on Australian rooftops, which will produce enough energy over the next year to run Melbourne's entire train network for more than a decade ... more		US solar sector small but growing Solar power, only a minuscule part of the energy mix in the United States, is getting a boost from cheap panels, growing acceptance by large companies and chances for homeowners to rent solar systems. ... more

SolarReserve Expands International Development Activities into Australia SolarReserve has announced the company's international expansion into Australia through the opening of its office in Perth. Continuing its ongoing efforts to provide reliable, cost-effective, clean ... more		New Poll shows Coloradans Support Colorado's Rooftop Solar Policies A new poll finds that nearly four in five Colorado voters (78%) support solar net metering, a successful renewable energy policy that monopoly utility Xcel is attacking. Net metering gives rooftop s ... more		Half-billion-year-old parasite still threatens shellfish China increases lead in global remote sensing research as US share slips Robots gain guarded acceptance in elderly care if safety and trust align		When aluminum outshines gold Humble aluminum's plasmonic properties may make it far more valuable than gold and silver for certain applications, according to new research by Rice University scientists. Because aluminum, a ... more
				AREVA reaches major milestone on concentrated solar power project in India On November 29th, AREVA completed a major milestone in the commissioning of its concentrated solar power (CSP) plant by achieving the first steam production. This solar plant, which integrates ... more		Centrosolar and Hawaiian Energy Complete Installation At Local School Hawaiian Energy Systems and Centrosolar America have announced the completion of a 243kW solar power system at the Sacred Hearts Academy in Honolulu, a prestigious, non-profit, all-girls private sch ... more

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SunEdison and Mayor Bloomberg Introduce MYC's Largest Solar Energy Project SunEdison last week introduced an innovative renewable energy project in partnership with America's largest city. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, alongside SunEdison officials, unveiled a pro ... more		ATK's PUMA Solar Arrays Successfully Complete 90th Deployment ATK has announced that its Planar Unfolding Modular Array (PUMA) solar arrays were successfully deployed on Orbital Science's SES-8 satellite, which launched last night and will carry communications ... more		SpaceX to Acquire EchoStar AWS-3 Spectrum Licenses in $2.6 Billion Stock Deal Robotic exosuit designed to assist astronaut movement tested in simulated lunar mission OlmoEarth AI Platform Released to Expand Access to Planetary Data and Insights		Solar-Powered Pocono Raceway Set to Host the Pocono INDYCAR 400 The top racers will line up this Sunday, July 7, as IndyCar makes its return to the solar-powered Pocono Raceway. The 400-mile event at the renewable energy raceway will be the first open-wheel even ... more
				MGM Resorts International Partners With NRG Solar To Launch Commercial Solar Project MGM Resorts International and NRG Energy, through its wholly owned subsidiary NRG Solar, have announced the planned installation of one of the largest rooftop solar photovoltaic arrays in the world ... more		Hanwha SolarOne Signs Strategic Partnership MOU with Jiangsu Zhongtian Technology Hanwha SolarOne has announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding ("MOU") with Jiangsu Zhongtian Technology Co., Ltd ("ZTT") stating their intention to establish a long-term strategic partne ... more

Ground broken on $6 million Hungarian farm biogas plant

Team reports on US trials of bioenergy grasses

Companies could make the switch to wood power

Robot herder brings the cows in for milking in Australia

NASA Developing Legs for ISS Robonaut 2

Literal Android: Google develops robots to replace people in manufacturing, retail

Renewable Energy Infrastructure Fund acquires 16 MW wind power asset from O2

Morgan Advanced Materials Delivers Superior Insulation Solution To Wind Farm

Ethiopia spearheads green energy in sub-Saharan Africa

China auto sales hit record high in November

Peugeot confirms in talks with Chinese carmaker, GM pulls out

Ford to open plants in China, Brazil; add 5,000 US jobs

	Dominion Virginia Power to Install Virginia's Largest Rooftop Solar Project Dominion Virginia Power will install more than 2,000 solar panels on the rooftop of Canon Virginia Inc.'s (CVI) Industrial Resource Technologies (IRT) facility in Gloucester, making it the largest r ... more		IAMGOLD to build Solar Project in Suriname IAMGOLD has announced that IAMGOLD and/or its subsidiary, Rosebel Gold Mines N.V. ("RGM") will fund the development and operation of a solar power project (the "Solar Project") with an installed cap ... more		ET Solar Turn-key Solutions Available in Indian Market ET Solar Group has delivered 1MW high quality and high-efficiency photovoltaic modules to a solar power plant in Tada, Andhra Pradesh, India, as a technical and commercial co-development partner of ... more		MECASOLAR supplies 1MW in solar trackers to PV solar plant in Jordan MECASOLAR has signed an important contract under which it will supply fixed structures to be installed in a PV solar park in Jordan. The new 1,028MWp solar park will be installed in Ma'an, sou ... more

China's new aircraft carrier enters service in key move to modernise fleet

Global tech tensions overshadow Web Summit's AI and robots

Senate Republicans defeat bill requiring Congress to approve attacking Venezuela

JinkoSolar Signs Strategic Cooperation Agreement for a 200MW Project		Imec Simplifies i-PERC Solar Cell Processing by implementing laser doping from ALD-Al2O3		Minister: Spain energy firms needn't worry about subsidy slash		Oregon researchers shed new light on solar water-splitting process		Natcore Technology Moves Toward Low-Temperature Production Of Solar Cells
Copper promises cheaper, sturdier fuel cells		UC Davis West Village: Setting The Standard		Dow Corning and Tianwei New Energy Collaborate on Leading Edge Solar Solution		PROINSO delivers 310kWp to six commercial and residential solar PV installations in Japan		City of Aurora, Xcel Energy, EPA Celebrate New Community Solar Site

Stanford study could lead to paradigm shift in organic solar cell research

Bio-based solar cell

The 'Golden Rules' for increasing sustainable electricity in developing countries

Renewables Provide 99% of All New US Electrical Generating Capacity in October

Tenaska Refinances its New Solar Electric Generating Facility in California's Imperial Valley

Dow Corning and Tianwei New Energy Collaborate on Leading Edge Solar Solution

Alta Devices to Enable Self-Powered Internet of Things

Holston View Wins Solar Project of the Year

Mahindra EPC's Successful Comissioning Of Solar Projects In Tamil Nadu

2 for 1 in solar power

Vikram Solar Promotes National Solar Manufacturing Capacity

SunEdison Launches Solar Water Pumps In India

Refined materials provide booster shot for solar energy conversion

Boeing Subsidiary Spectrolab Sets New Solar Cell Efficiency World Record

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