Solar electricity Features for July 2010
The UK is perhaps not the first country one thinks of when talking about solar photovoltaic (PV), but the country has some great potential. Dr Serge Younes, Sustainability Services Director at WSP Environment & Energy, explores.
21 July, 2010
Talking to Renewable Energy Focus at Intersolar, SCHOTT Solar CEO Dr Martin Heming said SCHOTT Solar managed to grow in both its concentrating solar power (CSP) and photovoltaic (PV) segments in 2009 despite the economic recession. He believes this is down to having a strong brand and high quality of products.
20 July, 2010
Solar photovoltaic cells become less efficient as they get hotter, a decline that can be substantial on hot sunny days. Furthermore, solar PV is inefficient and some energy is ‘lost’ to the surrounding environment. What solar PV needs is a partner able to complement its strengths and compensate its deficiencies. Fortunately, such a partner exists – solar thermal. Now it seems the two are getting together in what could be a happy marriage.
15 July, 2010
Part 2: Utility scale installations can cover anything from municipal distributed solar centres to complete plants with acres of solar farms for harvesting the sun's energy. Building the best structures and systems that offer the technology to back them up is critical to this area. Joyce Laird turns her attention to specific installations at the distributed/commercial scale, as well as the utility side of solar PV.
07 July, 2010