Solar panels under $1 per watt

[spadlet]

Originally Posted by suz1002

Yes, I suppose that's true. Do you have a link for that scheme you mentioned here?

I'm not sure how helpful it will be. I read about it in a book called Solar Electricity that was published in 2000 as part of an UNESCO energy engineering series, ISBN 0471988537/0471988529.

I've found the website http://finesse-africa.org/ for the project. It was set up by the World Bank in collaboration with The Netherlands Ministry of Development Co-operation, US Department of Energy and UNDP/EAP. They produce a newsletter which may be interesting. The directory for the newsletters can be accessed from http://finesse-africa.org/newsletter/ (I couldn't find a link to it from the main site). It said in the book that I read that the project also developed an Alternative Energy Fact-book for each country involved, an Institutional and Infrastructure Paper and a Project Assistance Handbook, but I haven't been able to find any info about them on the web.

The book also says that the Kwazulu Finance and Investment Corporation in South Africa has financed PV systems. Also in 1999 Shell Solar and Conlog in South Africa initiated a new form of PV leasing that used a pre-payment card system. I found a report that tries to analyse a system that is similar (if not the same) http://www.erc.uct.ac.za/publication...ctricfinal.pdf

Whilst trying to find the above information, I came across this website http://www.sustainable.org.za/.html which might be useful.

Most of the information seems geared towards commercial, industry and policy makers rather than members of the public. I'm not sure what level of information you were hoping for.

I'm afraid I don't know that much about South Africa . One of the links on the last website talks about a proposed solar wate heater by-law for the City of Cape Town. Do you know any more about this?

They look like some interesting links, I'll have a read properly over the weekend. We don't get much news from the Cape in my area as we're the opposite side of the country. I'll keep my ear to the ground though and post up if I hear anything

[AlienFarmer]

Ohh gigiddy, gigiddy I loved reading this story last week! Next year is when we will see banks giving as many people loans for solar systems as fast as they can. Finally after 30 years in R&D solar will start selling on a mass scale. If any of you are big investors in coal I would sell now.

[forfi]

Solar spam???

People are quite entitled to have links in their signature areas. Robin has gone, ease off please Forfi.

[spadlet]

Originally Posted by adi

People are quite entitled to have links in their signature areas. Robin has gone, ease off please Forfi.

Gone?

Hi Spadlet, I'll send you a pm so this thread stays on topic.

[LMagic007]

Sep 2007

"High Efficiency, Low Cost Solar Technology Developed At Colorado State to Begin Mass Production - Colorado State University"

"Produced at less than $1 per watt, the panels will dramatically reduce the cost of generating solar electricity and could power homes and businesses around the globe with clean energy for roughly the same cost as traditionally generated electricity. "

http://www.avasolar.com/news/pressDisplay.php?i=12

"Nanosolar’s cells use no silicon, and the company’s manufacturing process allows it to create cells that are as efficient as most commercial cells for as little as 30 cents a watt. "

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/flat/bo...n/item_59.html

http://www.nanosolar.com/

Shrinking the cost for solar power

http://www.news.com/Shrinking-the-co...3-6182947.html

Solar costs are falling, fossil fuel power costs are rising and when the carbon tax hit town, the whole ball game will change and there could be a solar boom. This boom could create new wealth and opportunities and be sustainable and thus supportive of very long term growth, well beyond 100 years of industrial activity that has impacted on our climate and future costs.

[spadlet]

The actual cost of the electricity produced will still be site dependant, wont it? Am I correct in thinking that all of these prices are for the rated output of the panels? So the economics won't work out as good if the site has a poor solar resource.

It's all good progress though

[LMagic007]

Yes location and sunlight hours will be a factor, but the newer cells perform better under indirect light of differing wave lengths. The costs are production costs I understand. Thus the eventual cost will rise to the end consumer, but still its a breakthrough.

As I indicated fossil fuels are not costed properly because the cost of their environmental degradation, is not factored into their cost. The damage from CO2 to the atmosphere is a huge cost that we are going to have to pay for in future if not already in some parts of the world. Thus we already face twofold costs associated with fossil fuels.

1. Climate Change impacts on weather patterns, floods, droughts, storms, far worse than typical or than may otherwise have reasonably been expected etc... and the economic cost of recovery from them.

2. The cost of abatement of mans contribution to Greenhouse emissions, said to be contributing toward the tipping point where Climate Change accelerates at a rate beyond anyones control.

NOTE: Most experts seem to agree that by burning of fossil fuels to a level beyond a threshold that the earth can tolerate and absorb, man has made Climate Change worse than it may otherwise have been.

As I understand, The CO2 in the atmosphere is trapping in the heat around the planet. Solar radiation gets in from the sun, absorbed by the earth and re-radiated as a infrared heat and gets trapped and absorbed by the CO2 and re-radiated back to earth, rather than escaping back to the outer atmosphere. This is said to be influencing climate patterns.

Thus the costs associated with some of these climatic changes are costs said to be attributable to the burning of fossil fuels and thus costs that we should really bear, and such costs be reflected in the pricing of fossil fuels, so that carbon offsets can be properly and fairly paid for.

Of course it gets somewhat philosophical as to where the charge should be applied as the buck stops with the consumers. Us ! But if we are really "fair dinkum" ( serious ) about addressing Climate Change we would be properly applying true life cycle costs of resource consumption. In applying this concept, solar and wind and other renewables would become far more cost competitive. Once built, a solar power station is near carbon neutral in its annual production of energy, compared to a coal fired plant and thus would not have to bear such huge carbon emission costs.