That is exactly what Biosolar, a Santa Clarita, California based company is doing. Their CEO, Dr. David Lee, knows a bit about the current components of standard photovoltaic panels. He expects Biosolar to begin contribuing to a greener version of photovoltaic solar panels.

Biosolar’s goal: to replace all the pretoleum-based materials and glass coatings now used in current photovoltaic cells. Dr. Lee explained that up to 25% of the cost of any current solar panel is actually taken up with the coatings, front and back, portions not used to generate electricity. Portions that currently are made from petroleum, or glass, not renewable resources.

BioSolar, Inc. has developed a breakthrough technology to produce bio-based materials from renewable plant sources that will reduce the cost per watt of solar cells. Most of the solar industry is focused on photovoltaic efficiency to reduce cost. BioSolar is the first company to introduce a new dimension of cost reduction by replacing petroleum-based plastic solar cell components with durable bio-based components. Through the advanced manipulation of bio-based polymers, BioSolar intends to produce robust bio-based components that meet the stringent thermal and durability requirements of current solar cell manufacturing processes.

BioSolar materials can be used directly in conventional manufacturing systems, such as injection molding and thin-film roll-to-roll, to create superstrate layer, substrate layer, backsheet as well as module and panel components. Whether solar cells are produced using crystalline silicon, amorphous silicon or other solar technologies, BioSolar can help reduce the cost per watt through the use of its lower cost bio-based materials. By removing petroleum from solar cells, BioSolar makes solar energy a true green source of energy.
And doing this with plants not made from food crops! What a great green idea!

Peace,

Bruce

BioSolar Website

On monday (5/25/08) new patents were pulled by some folks at Apple. The patents are related to using solar energy to power portable devices. As usual Apple is about three steps ahead of everyone else…

As an Apple Authorized Reseller and Ecopreneur… I found this very exciting and amusing. The patent talks about integrating the solar panels behind the actual LCD screen of a portable device.

This would save the space taken by the panels on the device’s outer surface. The patent application showcases diagram where the solar cells are placed between the LCD Layer and the Flex PCB. The technology behind this all is quite interesting. It goes back to a 2001 patent that Motorola filed, exploring the use of photovoltaic cells behind the LED screen of the device, much like a calculator. If Apple pulled this off successfully, there would be no design modifications at all. It would be an instant success.

The filing said that information regarding the performance of a device’s solar cells could be displayed on the main screen next to info for battery power, text message alerts and time of day. Or this information could also appear on top of the solar cells themselves, which are likely to display some version of the Apple logo.
In any case, Apple’s new technology could herald the next generation of wireless mobility. Without the need to electrically charge devices–either via outlets or USB cables–users could at last start to break free from on-the-grid power connections.
Other mobile product manufacturers have looked at solar energy for some time, as consumers demand more battery power from portable devices One product is the 6.4-ounce Solio Mg, $200, from Better Energy Systems. Its three magnesium blades fan out to reveal solar panels, which can store enough power to charge most phones and PDAs twice; an hour of clear sun will give most cell phones 25 minutes of talk time or an iPod an hour of playing time. It takes ten hours of direct sun to fully juice the device.
Also, the world’s first solar bag–the Voltaic Systems’ Generator laptop bag–is covered in solar cells and can charge a laptop. It generates up to 14.7 watts after a day of direct sunlight, can carry a 17-inch Apple Powerbook and comes with adapters that allow other electronics, such as cell phones, to be charged.

Apple is getting brighter all the time… :~)

Peace,

Bruce

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THE Australian State Government announced this week that Victoria would join Queensland and South Australia in offering an incentive for people to install solar power panels. Under the “feed-in” tariff for solar power, home owners will be paid more than three times the retail price for each kilowatt-hour of electricity fed into the grid from a rooftop solar power system.

In addition to increased adoption of renewable energy, feed-in tariffs can help build a local renewable energy industry. Germany now employs nearly 250,000 people in renewable energy, with 23,500 people involved in making solar panels.

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This kind of political will is an example of what we need here in the US. Go Ausi’s!  GO Citizenre!

With solar on our roofs we will not only save money, but make a HUGE contribution toward enhansing our economy and environment.

Peace,

Bruce

Full article

Tech firm SUNRGI says its “concentrated photovoltaic” system could revolutionize the solar power industry.

By Paul Davidson, USA TODAY
A Silicon Valley start-up says it has developed technology that can deliver solar power in about a year at prices competitive with coal-fired electricity, a milestone that would leapfrog other more established players and turbocharge the fast-growing industry.

SUNRGI’s “concentrated photovoltaic” system relies on lenses to magnify sunlight 2,000 times, letting it produce as much electricity as standard panels with a far smaller system. Craig Goodman, head of the National Energy Marketers Association, is expected to announce the breakthrough Tuesday.

Also pushing down costs are a highly efficient semiconductor that converts 37% of the sunlight to electricity, more than double the industry average. The unit’s compact size allows it to be made at electronics or PC factories, avoiding the need to build new plants.
“Moving from the lab to the market in two years is typically not what happens,” says Stow Walker of Cambridge Energy Research Associates. Yet, he adds, the semiconductor market “moves much more quickly than power technologies.”

Here’s the full article

There are many ways to think of how to funnel the impressive power of a group of individuals and the larger community. One way is by setting an example for the renewable energy wave of change that is under foot.

Sometimes it is difficult to be the first one in your neighborhood to make the move to renewable energy. Most all of the time it is well worth the effort and has benefits that go far beyond your expectations!

Below is a wonderful video by Good Energy Films in England. This north London church brings solar energy to the community providing green electricity and raising awareness for renewable energy.

Suprisingly, buildings produce the biggest share of green house emmissions. More than transportation or industry. The good news… is that no other sector offers a simpler or cheaper way to cut emmissions and save energy.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released a report in April 2007 highlighting the importance of energy efficient buildings in the global campaign to combat climate change.

“By some conservative estimates, the building sector worldwide could deliver emissions reductions of 1.8 billion tons of CO2,” says UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner. “A more aggressive energy efficiency policy might deliver over two billion tons or close to three times the amount scheduled to be reduced under the Kyoto Protocol.”

Currently the building sector has it’s CO2 emmissions are rising at the rate of one and a half to two percent per year. So conservation, higher efficiency, better insulation and renewable energy are key elements to dramatically reduce this trend. Sustainable building practice has attracted some high-profile projects and has gone mainstream over the last few years. In May-2007, The Clinton Initiative launched the Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Program, a five Billion dollar project that will create more efficient energy consumption in existing uban buildings.

The new green standard Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) has garnered a new respect in the building industry and has has a tremdous amount of public interest.LEED certifications take into account site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality. Some insurance companies are now offering lower insurance rates due to the lower risk factor…. everybody wins.

In-joy,

Bruce

Energy From The Community - Good Energy Films

This REPORT:

Freeing the Grid, report no. 02-07, November 2007

is an excellent resource for understanding the net-metering changes happening accross the country.

Here is an excerpt:

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“Since the 2006 edition of Freeing the Grid, there have been great strides in bringing more clean energy to the grid. Many states have taken the lead with reforming their clean energy policies and goals. But we are still far from conquering the “Energy Trilemma”—a world of energy strained by the three forces: financial stress, environmental constraints and security risks.

As a former rate-regulator, I know it is a tough situation when a utility comes to say, “We need to increase rates to cover new investments in transmission and distribution.” So, when we have a chance to recruit and encourage folks who will install their own small, clean generation that serves its own load, the message is: “Many hands make lighter work; welcome to the task that we all face!”

In this 2007 edition, the Network for New Energy Choices teamed up with the Solar Alliance, the Vote Solar Initiative, and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council to bring the most up-to-date analysis of statewide interconnection standards and net-metering rules. These groups, in the forefront of the field, bring with them more than twenty-five years in institutional experience to draw on best policies and practices.

What are some of the key lessons of this edition?

••• States are taking up the challenge of meeting our national needs; Colorado and Pennsylvania have joined New Jersey in the top ranks of net-metering rules.

••• Interconnection standards and good net-metering policies are vital parts of a larger effort to supplement our current centralized, fossil-fired, electric grid with clean, secure, and cost-effective energy resources. States that have poor net-metering rules and interconnection standards are essentially telling the clean energy industry—with its great potential for job creation—that they are, “Closed for Business”.

••• States can take on the best practices, detailed within, to ensure success in fulfilling clean energy goals.

••• Last, but certainly not least, to encourage, not discourage, small, clean, distributed investments that can help on all three fronts of our energy trilemma—finance, environment, and security.

As we think back on the past year, it is important to remember that each state still needs the tools offered here. So my message, to the legislatures and commissions, is: “Let’s put these tools and lessons to work now.”

By Michael Dworkin
Professor of law and director of the Institute for Energy and the
Environment at Vermont Law School, has also been a litigator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a management partner in an engineering firm, and a utility regulator. Professor Dworkin was chair of the Vermont Public Service Board from 1999 to 2005, and he chaired the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ (NARUC)
Committee on Energy Resources & the Environment. Michael is now a non-utility trustee of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and was elected to the board of the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE).
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