It seems that high prices for gasoline and heating oil used in homes are here to stay. Sure, they go up and down, but overall they still remain pretty high and consume more of our pocketbooks than they ever have in the past. We are constantly struggling with the Middle East, at least in part to protect our interest in their oil. And as other nations, including China and India, increase their demand for fossil fuels, it seems that conflicts regarding energy are looming large on the horizon. In the meantime, power plants that burn fossil fuels, as well as all of our vehicles everywhere, continue to pour millions of tons of pollutants into the atmosphere annually, threatening our health and well-being.

There are a number of well-meaning scientists, engineers and politicians who have presented various methods that could slightly reduce our use of fossil fuel. However, these steps are not enough. The US needs a plan to work itself away from our dependence on fossil fuels. It appears that only answer is a transition to solar power.

The potential of solar energy is overwhelming. For example, the energy in the sunlight striking the earth for only 40 minutes is equivalent to our human global energy consumption for one year. The U.S. is lucky in the sense that we have at least 250,000 mi. of land in the Southwest alone that is suitable for building solar power plants. That land receives more than 4500 quadrillion British thermal units (BTUs) of solar radiation every year. If we were to convert only 2.5% of that radiation into electricity, we would match the nation’s total energy consumption of 2006.

However, to convert this solar power, large tracts of land would have to be covered with photovoltaic cells and perhaps solar heating troughs.

The good news is that the technology is nearly ready. Let’s look at photovoltaic farms.

In the last few years, the cost to produce photovoltaic cells and modules have really dropped pretty radically, opening the way for large-scale implementation. A number of cell types exist, but the best modules today are made of very thin films of cadmium telluride. To work up the numbers, if we were to provide electricity at $.06 per kilowatt-hour by the year 2020, cadmium telluride modules must be able to convert electricity with at least 14% efficiency and complete systems would have to be installed at about a $1.20 per watt capacity. Current modules have only 10% efficiency and an installed system costs about $4 per watt. We are making progress, and the technology is advancing rapidly; commercial efficiencies have risen to upwards of 10% in the last year. As these commercial efficiencies rise, rooftop photovoltaic for the home will become even more cost competitive, further reducing daytime electricity demand on the utilities.

In one scenario, by 2050, photovoltaic technology could provide almost 3000 GW, or billions of Watts, of power. 30,000 square miles of photovoltaic arrays would need to be constructed. This may seem like a huge number, but current installations already in place show that the land required for each gigawatt hour of solar energy produced in the Southwest is less than the actual amount needed for a power plant when the area used for coal mining is taken into consideration. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado shows that more than enough land in the Southwest is available without disturbing any environmentally sensitive areas, cities or towns. In Arizona, the Department of Water Conservation has stated that more than 80% of the state’s land is not privately owned and that Arizona is very interested in developing its solar potential. Because of the nature of photovoltaic plants, and the lack of water required to operate these plants, the environmental impact should be minimal.

The main problem is still reaching that magic number of module efficiency of 14%. Although the efficiencies of commercial modules won’t reach those of solar cells in the laboratory, cadmium telluride cells at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are now up to 16.5% and rising. At least one manufacturer, First Solar in Perrysburg, Ohio, has increased the efficiency of their modules from 6% to 10% from 2005-2007. They plan on reaching 11.5% by 2010.

So, the trick is to keep an eye on the efficiencies of solar cells. After they reach 14% efficiency and the base cost per kilowatt hour becomes more acceptable, expect to see a number of companies and individuals making investments in this future.

In San Francisco recently, the first ever-fully manufactured version of a pre-fabricated home designed by Michelle Kaufman was debuted. The home is called mkLotus®. As a dwelling, it is coyly understated, yet slick and offers the highest level of modern, sustainable living.

What separates this from the other homes of the future, though, is that it is available right now. After just a few months lead time, a load of technologies and materials will be assembled into one modular unit and delivered to your construction site.

The mkLotus® is a small unit, comprised of one bedroom, one bathroom and a living and dining area. It features water recirculation, a very high energy-efficient foam insulation, LED lighting, a “growing roof” that keeps rainwater from splashing into the gutter and a water storage basin that provides you irrigation for the landscape. It has a 1.5 kW solar panel system that produces enough electricity for most of your needs.

Solar Panels And Wind Turbines Aren’t The Only Way To Save Money

The house is built off-site which reduces construction waste upwards of 70%. Nearly all of the materials such as floors, walls, countertops, doors, and light fixtures in the home are made of recycled, energy-efficient and eco-friendly produced materials. The kitchen sink even has a low flow faucet.

The neat part of this whole thing is that really, not much of the technology is right on the cutting edge. Yes, it is modern, but not necessarily cutting edge. Kaufman says, “We need to look back before the Industrial Revolution, before we had the mechanical means of controlling indoor climate.”

All of this is made into a very livable, though small, space. The only sacrifice seems to be a limit of closets, but I’m sure they will work that out in future designs. This design is extremely sophisticated and makes 700 ft. seem very spacious.

Unfortunately, however, the cost is a bit high. With all the options, the single bedroom more home lists at $249,000. That is about $356 per square foot, and that does not include installation site preparation or the property itself. It is true that you will experience significant savings on your monthly utilities, but that savings comes at over double the building cost of your average home.

Still, though, this is one of the first and no doubt the most expensive. Keep an eye on it and learn from them; you may get some good ideas for your own.

For more information check out Michelle Kaufmann’s site at http://www.mkd-arc.com/.

Thanks for the effort, Michelle Kaufmann et al; you are doing good work.

FAIRFIELD, Calif., April 16, 2009

Today, Anheuser-Busch has announced that more than six acres of photovoltaic solar arrays and solar panels, which are installed and operated by Sun Edison, are now generating the equivalent of 3% of the breweries electrical needs.

“Operating with care and concern for the environment has been a hallmark of Anheuser-Busch for more than a century,” said Kevin Finger, general manager, Anheuser-Busch Fairfield brewery. “Our increased use of alternative energy sources is the latest example of how we strive to be the best beer company in a better world.”

Last year after meetings with SunEdison, the brewery entered into an agreement to provide the property for a solar panel power plant. In addition, the brewer reconstructed a bioenergy recovery system which provides more than 15% of the breweries fuel. This is done by turning nutrients in the brewing wastewater into a renewable biogas that can then be burned, decreasing the brewery’s use of natural gas.

These two projects represent the latest in a series of improvements at the Fairfield brewery regarding conservation and efficiency. Recent efforts have included a project that will recover steam in the brewhouse and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Another involves the installation of a more efficient boiler burner and new, more energy-efficient air compressors. Also, brewery lighting is now controlled by timers. Because of all of these enhancements and improvements, the brewery has decreased fuel use by more than 37%, water use by by more than 30% and electricity use by more than 13%.

“Anheuser-Busch has been a good neighbor to Fairfield and the surrounding communities for more than 30 years,” said State Senator Lois Wolk, who represents the region. “They have earned their reputation as not only a top employer in the area, but as a business doing the right thing for the environment, even before it was popular.”

“Anheuser-Busch has taken a strong leadership role in protecting natural resources and using energy wisely and efficiently. By hosting a PV solar energy system, Anheuser-Busch is part of America’s new energy future. SunEdison is proud to support them today and for decades to come,” said Kirk Roller, vice president of SunEdison.

The ground mounted solar system, capable of producing 1.2 MW through its solar panels, is located on every property near California Highway 80 area as part of the agreement, SunEdison financed installs and is operating the photovoltaic solar panel energy system. The system also generates renewable energy certificates.

Baldo has coated the surfaces of 10 cm square pieces of glass with dyes that glow orange under an ultraviolet lamp. However, the uncoated edges of the glass are shining more brightly than the top.

The sheet of glass is called a solar concentrator. This is the device that gathers normal, natural diffuse light and focuses it onto a small solar cell. Solar cells are multilayered electronic devices made of highly refined silicon and are very expensive to manufacture. The bigger they are, the more they cost. Solar concentrators can lower the overall cost of solar power by making the cells much smaller. Usually, though, the concentrators are typically made of curved mirrors or lenses which are bulky and need elaborate mechanical systems to help them track the sun.

These glass sheets are different as they act more as waveguides by channeling the light in the same way that fiber-optic cables transmit optical signals. The dyes in this experiment that coat the surfaces of the glass absorb sunlight. Different dyes are used to store different wavelengths of light. Then the dyes will re-insert the light into the glass and the glass channels it to the edges. Solar cell strips have been attached to the edges and accept the light and generate electricity. The larger the surface of the glass compared with the thickness of the edges, the more the light is concentrated and the less the power costs.

Baldo, an associate professor of electrical engineering, published his findings recently in Science. He believes that his solar concentrators can be made large enough for the electricity they generate to compete with electricity from traditional sources, such as fossil fuels. He believes that this could be the cheapest solar technology available.

The process for making these solar concentrators begins in another lab at MIT. Several bottles filled with colorful dye powders are measured carefully into small vials. Some of the dyes had been developed for use in car paint; others have been used in creating organic light emitting diodes. Both types of guys are very hardy and can last for years in the sun. This, of course, is essential for solar panel devices.

Once he has measured out the powders, a solvent is added to each to make a form of liquid ink.

Next, the ingredients are placed inside a sealed box and each solution is mixed. It is critical that the right combination of inks is used. If the glass sheet is coated with a dye that absorbs sunlight in those green range of the solar spectrum and emits light that is in the same wavelength, emitted light will in turn be reabsorbed by the dye and it will never reach the edge of the glass.

After the mixture is formed, a small amount is poured on the glass structure. Within a minute or two, the solvent has evaporated out of the dye in the process is finished. The solar panel concentrator with its new coating of orange dye is complete.

Currently, the high costs for the type of silicone that is used in photovoltaics have driven up the price of conventional solar panels. Soleria’s solar panel cells generate about 90% as much power as a conventional solar panel, while using just half as much silicon.

Usually, the silicon in a solar panel covers the entire surface, collecting light from as much area as is possible. But Solaria is able to slice the silicon into thin strips and places them so that they only cover about half of the panel’s area. A clear molded plastic cover collects light from the entire panel and channels it to the strips of silicon.

This method saves a lot of money because the total cost of the molded plastic and the additional manufacturing steps are still lower than the cost of the silicon that would normally be used in conventional solar panels. They also reduce costs by using existing manufacturing equipment that has already been developed for the semiconductor industry. These first products could be economical enough compete with panels provided by much larger companies. In successive generations, the cost could be as much as 30% less than their competitors.

Unfortunately, silicon prices are high now. But the element is abundant on this planet and there are already new facilities being built to produce more refined silicon. Soleri plans to implement even more cost-saving measures to remain competitive.

Such measures are clearly possible. For example in a conventional solar panel, the wires for collecting the electricity are placed on top of the cell, where they inherently block some of the incoming sunlight. Soleria could place wires in between the strips of silicon were no light is blocked. Because these wires wouldn’t have to be made then to avoid blocking the existing sunlight, they could be sized to collect the electricity in a more efficient manner.

“Using renewable solar energy in the mobile handset is an example of our ongoing efforts to help create a safer, cleaner environment for our customers,” said Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “LG continues to research and invest in creating products that not only provide a better experience for consumers, but also encourage an environmentally responsible lifestyle.”

The phone’s solar power system is embedded onto the battery cover, to conveniently harness the sun’s limitless and pollution-free energy.

By simply pointing the phone’s solar panel at natural light, the panel will convert solar energy into electricity without needing to be plugged in. Exposing the panel to the sun for ten minutes will give the phone enough power for a three-minute call, making it the perfect companion for emergency situations when no power is available to charge a dead battery. If left in natural light for long periods, the solar panel creates enough standby power to power the phone without any charging devices. LG plans to release this eco-friendly phone in the European market at the end of this year.

LG’s green initiative has not stopped at phones. The company’s LG HFB-500 Bluetooth solar car kit, first introduced at this January’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, gives customers hands-free mobile use in a fully rechargeable solar unit. In addition, LG is introducing green packaging to its entire line of 2009 mobile handset models. The eco-friendly packaging saves natural resources and promotes easy recycling by printing with soy inks and using recycled paper and cardboard without laminate coating. LG will also expand the use of its eco-friendly product manuals, produced with soy ink and recycled paper, to a broader range of models in 2009.

LG is also taking a step forward in reducing the use of hazardous substances in its products and instead using sustainable ones. LG adheres to strict requirements administered by the EU’s RoHS regarding the management of hazardous substances including lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), hexavalent chromium (Cr6+), polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) in its production processes.

The company also plans to make its mobile handsets free of halogenated substances, a known endocrine disruptor, by removing Brominated flame retardants (BFR), chlorinated flame retardants (CFR) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from the manufacturing process by 2010 and will make all handsets antimony-free by 2012.

LG recently announced its “Life’s Good When It’s Green” initiative, the foundation of its global sustainability program at Consumer Electronics Show 2009. The worldwide program focuses on sustainability through Eco-Design and Eco-Products, the reduction of hazardous substances, responsible take-back programs and recycling facilities, and addressing global climate change.

The LG Solar-powered handset, Bluetooth solar car kit and new green packaging will all be showcased at the Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcelona