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Old Posted Sep 2, 2013, 8:01 PM
amor de cosmos amor de cosmos is offline
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US to supply 20% of global solar demand to 2018
02. September 2013 | Applications & Installations, Global PV markets, Industry & Suppliers, Investor news, Market & Trends | By: Max Hall

A 44 GW solar pipeline means the U.S. will supply 20% of global solar demand up to 2018, according to NPD Solarbuzz. The solar consultancy says California installed a state record 521 MW of PV from April to June.

Market forecaster NPD Solarbuzz is predicting the U.S. will supply 20% of global solar demand over the next five years.

With the solar consultancy estimating there are more than 2,300 utility and commercial scale solar projects of 50 kW and above in a U.S. pipeline of more than 44 GW, NPD Solarbuzz is predicting demand which is expected to rise 17% on 2012 this year to continue booming to 5.3 GW next year.

Unsurprisingly California is again the poster boy state in the consultant's latest North America PV Markets Quarterly report and the extent of the U.S. solar renaissance is demonstrated by the fact California set a state three-month record by adding 521 MW of solar from April to June, amounting to 53% of the 976 MW of new PV in the U.S.
http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/deta...018_100012594/

Quote:
Solar energy: A richer harvest on the horizon
Published online 28 August 2013

Theoretical simulations reveal that layered semiconductors with magnetic interfaces are potent catalysts for solar energy capture and conversion

Semiconductor nanostructures are poised to play a big role in future solar-powered hydrogen generation systems, according to a new study by researchers at the A*STAR Institute of High Performance Computing1. Hui Pan and Yong-Wei Zhang report that model interfaces made from gallium nitride (GaN) and zinc oxide (ZnO) semiconductors have tunable magnetic and light-harvesting capabilities — factors that can greatly improve the photocatalytic transformation of water into hydrogen fuel.

Most photoelectrochemical cells use titanium dioxide electrodes to absorb light and split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen gas. But because this mineral has a large bandgap — a measure of energy needed to initiate photoreactions — these devices respond only to a tiny fraction of the solar spectrum. A promising way to boost this efficiency is with ‘superlattice’ materials that stack two different semiconductors into alternate, nanometer-thin layers. The two-dimensional channels that emerge from superlattices resemble conductive nanowires for swift charge-carrier movement. Bandgaps in these hetero-nanostructures have a demonstrated dependence on semiconductor composition and layer thickness.
http://www.research.a-star.edu.sg/research/6725

Quote:
Discovery could make solar power cheaper, more accessible
UAlberta research paves way for nanoparticle-based 'ink' to make printable or spray-on solar cells.

By Bev Betkowski on August 29, 2013

(Edmonton) University of Alberta researchers have found that abundant materials in the Earth’s crust can be used to make inexpensive and easily manufactured nanoparticle-based solar cells.

The discovery, several years in the making, is an important step forward in making solar power more accessible to parts of the world that are off the traditional electricity grid or face high power costs, such as the Canadian North, said researcher Jillian Buriak, a chemistry professor and senior research officer of the National Institute for Nanotechnology based on the U of A campus.

Buriak and her team have designed nanoparticles that absorb light and conduct electricity from two very common elements: phosphorus and zinc. Both materials are more plentiful than scarce materials such as cadmium and are free from manufacturing restrictions imposed on lead-based nanoparticles.

“Half the world already lives off the grid, and with demand for electrical power expected to double by the year 2050, it is important that renewable energy sources like solar power are made more affordable by lowering the costs of manufacturing,” Buriak said.

Her team’s research supports a promising approach of making solar cells cheaply using mass manufacturing methods like roll-to-roll printing (as with newspaper presses) or spray-coating (similar to automotive painting). “Nanoparticle-based ‘inks’ could be used to literally paint or print solar cells or precise compositions,” Buriak said.
http://news.ualberta.ca/newsarticles...ore-accessible
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