Solar | Environment, sustainability and well-being

Mexico, a delicious dish for photovoltaics

Mexico, thanks to its geographical position, is a greedy territory for the photovoltaic sector. Thanks to a high average annual solar radiation, Mexico stands out in the list of the 15 countries with the highest installed capacity of photovoltaic energy worldwide. Together with the optimal geographic location, competitive costs help the spread of photovoltaics in Mexico: according to the Solarplaza report, photovoltaic prices in Mexico fell by 30 percent in just one year (from 2011 to 2012) and, to hear an industry expert, Arture Herrero, Chief Marketing Officer at Jinko Solar, the demand for photovoltaics in 2013 is still rising.

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Energy bill and increase in the incentive rate

2021

The Energy Account is an excellent resource for users who intend to rely on clean energy. In this article we have described the 2013 incentives for photovoltaics. The rates described can be increased thanks to the "Premium for photovoltaic systems combined with efficient use of energy".

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Solar thermal, the first plant in South America

2021

Solar thermal finally arrives also in South America, through the Antofagasta region of Chile. The installation is spread over six hectares of land and is composed of more than a thousand solar collectors that make up a 10 MW solar thermal system. Abengoa, Spanish photovoltaic producer, has designed and built a 10 megawatt solar thermal plant in Sierra Gorda, in the mining plants of Minera El Tesoro, Chile; it is the first operational solar thermal plant in South America.

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Photovoltaic adhesive

2021

Photovoltaic cells as adhesives, applicable anywhere, on any surface. This is the new frontier of photovoltaics, thanks to thin-film technology and the manufacturing process developed by Stanford University. Photovoltaic technology is making great strides. In a short time we have gone from the classic rigid cells, to thin films, which today have become adhesive and are ready to be applied anywhere, you don't need a smooth surface to produce clean energy from the sun.

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China, the new mistress of the Sun

2021

A few months ago, China announced that it would quadruple its goals in the photovoltaic sector. Apparently its hunger for clean energy has not yet been appeased so it adds more solar power to its Goals.It was only July when China increased its official goals to push them to 21 GW installed power by 2015.

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Photovoltaic, the Chinese reform arrives

2021

80 percent of the European photovoltaic market is in the hands of China. In 2011 alone, the European Union was the recipient of 60 percent of Chinese exports of solar products worth $ 35.8 billion. In 2012, the situation saw only slight changes but mainly dictated by the global economic crisis.

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Photovoltaic incentives 2013

2017

The Energy Account represents a reference point for those who want to invest in renewable energy. The user who wants to build a photovoltaic system in 2013 can count on the incentives of the Energy Account, or, alternatively, one of the energy services offered by the ESCOs. 2013 Photovoltaic Incentives, an overview From 1 January 2013, to reimburse the energy produced and fed into the electricity grid, it will pass to the so-called all-inclusive tariff, in addition a specific tariff will be assigned on the portion of self-consumed energy.

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Solar panels: instructions for the winter

2021

Snow makes skiers happy, but it can reduce the yield of photovoltaic installations. The days get shorter, the hours of exposure to sunlight are reduced and the performance of the modules decreases.If the changing of the seasons is completely normal and impossible to avoid, other factors that affect the performance of photovoltaic structures, such as a dense layer of snow or intense cloud cover can be governed.

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Castilla-La Mancha solar complex

2021

Spain as well as the USA and Japan, if it wants to remain among the countries with the highest installed solar power, must set up new photovoltaic systems. During this 2012 Spain has expanded its solar capacity but soon another 100 MW will be added. The global scenario, for installed photovoltaic capacity, at the end of 2011 saw Germany in the lead, followed by Italy, Japan, Spain and the United States; just as shown below.

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Organic solar cells

2021

It is possible to develop more efficient and cheaper solar cells. Research in the photovoltaic sector is maturing large fruits and the in-depth study on fullerenes could represent the keystone for the spread of organic solar cells. Organic-based solar cells are nothing new but the big limitation of this innovation lies in its basic constituent, fullerene, too expensive for mass diffusion.

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The Photovoltaic Atlas

2021

On the occasion of the World Future Energy Summit in Dubai, WWF presented a new study on photovoltaics. It is called "The Photovoltaic Atlas" and demonstrates, among other things, that even if the entire global electricity requirement were to be generated solely with photovoltaics, this would occupy, contrary to popular belief, an insignificant amount of the earth's surface.

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Photovoltaic Project of the Year

2021

On the occasion of Power-Gen International 2012, the prestigious award of "Photovoltaic Project of the Year" was awarded. The award was won by a German plant, one of the largest in the world: it covers an area of 352 hectares. It was built in an area of the former lignite mine east of the Meuro community, near Senftenberg, south of Brandenburg.

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Renewables cheaper than coal

2021

There are more and more families who prefer to buy clean energy and with the spread of renewables, electricity from clean sources risks being cheaper than that of conventional power plants. Grid Parity is defined as the equal economic convenience between purchase of clean energy and that from fossil fuels.

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Haiti, solar hospitals arrive

2021

Haiti arrived on everyone's lips in 2010, following the earthquake that affected at least four million people with about 260,000 victims. Today Haiti returns to ride the news and does so with very positive news: Haiti will welcome 12 solar-powered healthcare facilities, the HUM project will be completed by March and the first solar hospital in the Caribbean state will open its doors.

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Zero expenses photovoltaic

2021

We have already told you about the ESCo, Energy Service Company. Today we will focus on the possibility of installing a photovoltaic system at no cost. How is such a thing possible? Thanks to incentives, tax breaks, energy efficiency and the work of the E.S.Co., the goal of an ESCo is to maximize the energy and economic savings of its client.

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NASA will launch the Solar Sail

2021

It will travel over 2 million miles from the earth. It is now official, in 2014 NASA will launch the Sunjammer solar sail, the largest in the world. SunJammer distinguishes itself from all other NASA technologies by the total absence of fuels, the solar sail will be powered entirely by light photons.

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Panels: keep an eye on recycling regulations

2021

Attention: does your photovoltaic system comply with the (binding) regulations on recycling? The question is important because if the answer is negative it means that you are at risk of losing the incentives provided by the Energy Services Manager, or in the best of cases having to put your wallet back.

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SolarCity in partnership with Honda

2021

The US SolarCity behaves like our ESCOs (Energy Service Companies). SolarCity, just like the Italian ESCOs, procures investments to provide photovoltaic systems to customers, without them being forced to hunt thousands of dollars in advance. SolarCity supplies and installs photovoltaic systems at no cost to the customer, SolarCity derives its profit from the share of energy and economic savings obtained by the customer following the interventions carried out.

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Solar car cover

2021

I don't know how useful a cover of this kind can be. It is certainly much better than plastic awnings or brick and concrete garages. It's called V-Tent, literally "Tenda V", it is the creation of the industrial designer Hakan Gürsu. The V-Tent is a flexible and foldable roof, it uses the latest generation photovoltaic modules and has the purpose of protecting the car from the wind, from the sun, from bad weather and perhaps even from thieves who want to steal it.

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Will 3D Printing Revolutionize the Solar Industry?

2021

3D printers are on everyone's lips, filling newspaper pages and making appearances in music videos (see will.i.am - Scream & Shout ft. Britney Spears, photo below). Indeed, even President Obama talks about it stating that 3D printing "has the potential to revolutionize our daily routine".

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From Italy, innovation for the development of humanity

2021

Once again, innovation is made in Italy: a Venetian start-up, Solwa, has managed to create an instrument capable of purifying polluted (or salty) water, using only the sun's radiation. investment of 250 thousand euros, the start-up Solowa has already filed a patent; the device made is composed of a few pieces that hide a technology based on sophisticated chemistry and thermodynamic calculations.