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40 MWp Solarpark "Waldpolenz"
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16 MW of Solarpark "Waldpolenz" is online. Solarpark Waldpolenz is now the largest german
photovoltaic power plant.
Construction of further 25 MW is ongoing and it should be completed in 2009 with peak power 40 MWp.
Read more.
Large ground-mounted power plant
will be constructed on area of 1 x 2 km and it will consists of 550.000 thin-film modules.
Annually plant will save about 25.000 tons of CO2 emissions and it wil produce about
40.000 MWh of electricity. Picture source/copyright juwi GmbH:
Read more about juwi's project
 (1009 kB).
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Sun in old cultures
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Stanford SOLAR Center offers comprehensive collection of information - sun in old cultures, ancient observatories,
solar art and more. Recommended web site!
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Electricity from renewables saved 2,8 billion USD in Germany in 2005
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Comprehensive report available for free as pdf file was written by
specialists from "Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR, Stuttgart)" and
"Fraunhofer Institut für System- und Innovationsforschung (ISI, Karlsruhe)".
Highly recommended (german language only).
Read more... or
download report as
file (337 kB).
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Recommended books
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Photovoltaik
Strom aus Sonnenlicht für Verbundnetz und Inselanlagen
Book covers topics from solar cells to grid connected photovoltaic sytems
(German language).
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Gebäudeintegrierte Photovoltaik. Architektonische Integration der Photovoltaik in die Gebäudehülle
One of the best BIPV related books available (German language).
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Designing with Solar Power
The book introduces the holistic design process, PV
technologies and integration concepts. With case studies
from across the globe, experts in the field explore the
potential of this technology, covering various
applications (including non-building structures), relevant
design tools, reliability, non-technical barriers and markets.
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Solární energie
book written by Martin Libra and Vladislav Poulek
is available in czech and english language. In many short chapters it gives good
introduction into the world of solar energy (photovoltaics). More...
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Interesting application examples
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Stillwell Avenue Terminal
Coney Island's Stillwell Avenue Terminal is the largest above-ground station in
the New York City subway system. Glass
and steel structure was designed using an innovative, panelized construction system of
semi-transparent photovoltaic modules.
Picture courtesy:
Glaswerke Arnold GmbH&Co.KG.
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Fashion & high-tech
Interesting BIPV example is facade of a fashion house "ZARA" in Köln, Germany.
"ZARA's" facade is a combination of natural stone, metal and BIPV
integrated solar modules. 12 kW photovoltaic system consists of special solar glass and marine blue solar cells.
Picture courtesy Ingo Hagemann Architekturbüro Hagemann....
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Tracking concentrators
Bifacial tracking concentrators are often used for water pumping
or as electricity sources in rural areas. 2,2 kWp model bifacial
solar tracking concentrator designed by professionals is presented on the picture below. More
about trackers and concentrators...
Picture courtesy Poulek Solar....
Roof integrated modules
Floriade exhibition hall, the Netherlands. Roof integrated photovoltaic system with
transparent modules. Detailed description of Floriade system can you find in Top50 list (pdf description courtesy of Siemens Nederland N.V.). More about bipv applications...
Pictures courtesy Bram Vorster...
"Clean Energy path at St. Moritz" - three different
solar power systems around the funicular of Corviglia at Piz Nair,
a mountain close to St. Moritz (Switzerland): one at the beginning
of the funicular with round about 9 kWp, one parallel to the route
with about 18 kWp and the third on the peak, more than 3,000 meters
above sea level, with 14 kWp.
More...
Picture courtesy:
SunTechnics GmbH
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Solar Generation report
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Solar Generation IV -
Greenpeace and EPIA are joining forces for the fourth time to publish a report on PV solar electricity: Solar Generation IV. Apart from
providing an overview of the current worldwide status of PV in terms of
policy, technology and economics, Solar Generation contains credible
scenarios which prove once again that PV is clearly on the way to becoming
a well-established energy source in the coming decades; EPIA, Greenpeace, September 2007 (6000 kB).
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Interesting milestones
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90 years ago
In 1918, a Polish scientist Jan Czochralski discovered a method for
monocrystalline silicon production, which enabled monocrystalline solar
cells production.
50 years ago
In 1958, Hoffman Electronics Semiconductor Division introduced a solar cell
with 9 % efficiency.
20 years ago
In 1988, the fourth Tour de Sol race of 350 km in Switzerland and Austria
took place. The vehicle categories included photovoltaic supplied vehicles,
additional pedals vehicles, commercial photovoltaic supplied vehicles and
electric vehicles without photovoltaic supply.
More...
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About web site
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This is an independent web site devoted to promote photovoltaic applications and technologies. It was
developed as non-commercial helpful information to serve teachers, students and others interested in photovoltaics.
In the web site you will find many interesting information on photovoltaic technologies, systems, applications etc. In case you
miss any information, I have provided various interesting links where you can look for information you want.
More...
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Architectural highlights
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Sound protection wall located in Vienna, Austria. Area
193 m2, special soundprotection transparent modules with
polycrystalline solar cells used.
54 modules with peak power of 15,4 kW installed (picture courtesy Ertex Solar GmbH).
More...
World's largest photovoltaic module with rated power 1500 W was presented on Intersolar fair in June 2005.
Module is produced by austrian company Ertex Solar GmbH. Glass-glass laminate module
is suitable for facade integration or large sunspaces for example (picture courtesy Ertex Solar GmbH).
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REN21 Renewables Global Status Report
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The renewable energy industry is stepping up its meteoric rise into the
mainstream of the energy sector, according to the REN21 Renewables
2007 Global Status Report.
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GUNTHER Portfolio
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The GUNTHER Portfolio offers short and interesting overviews about PV
technologies, companies, industry developments etc.
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Solar Energy News - RenewableEnergyWorld.com
Renewable Energy News Headlines provided by RenewableEnergyWorld.com - the leading online publisher of renewable energy news and information world-wide.
Sen. Barack Obama Tours PV Powered Facility in Oregon
U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) campaigned in Oregon over the weekend as part of the lead up to the state's Democratic Presidential Primary on May 20. Part of his trip included a tour of PV Powered's manufacturing fa...
Suntech to Supply BIPV System in France
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. announced it has signed an agreement with Hanau Energies SAS to supply a 4.5-megawatt (MW) building integrated PV system (BIPV) to a farm located in Alsace, France.
LIPA Calls for 50 MW of Solar Energy
New York State Governor David Paterson announced a renewable energy project that could create the state's largest source of solar power. This project could further stimulate the solar marketplace throughout the state,...
Water Lily Plan for Solar Power
Spotlight on EcoPreneurs: Leaders Making a World of Difference
Ecology Entrepreneurs, often referred to as EcoPreneurs, hold strong beliefs about creating a sustainable planet and sustainable market opportunities. They think big. By marshalling their leadership and resourcefuln...
US House Representative Jon Porter Presents Congressional Recognition To Sene...
To recognize the commercial debut of the Millennia solar air conditioning and heating system, Nevada's 3rd District Representative, Jon Porter, presented Senergy Cooling Systems and SolCool One, LLC with a Congression...
Spire to Attend IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference
BEDFORD, MA – May 8, 2008 – Spire Corporation, (Nasdaq: SPIR), a global solar company providing turnkey solar factories and capital equipment to manufacture photovoltaic modules worldwide, today announced it will att...
Bipartisan Companion for Extension of Renewable Energy Tax Credits Introduced
Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) and 34 other members of the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced H.R. 5984, a bipartisan companion to S. 2821, also known as the Clean Energy Tax Stimulus Act of 2008. S. 28...
Centrosolar Invests in PV Cell Production
A joint venture for the production of crystalline solar cells has been launched by co-investors Centrosolar Group AG and Qimonda AG. The production plant will be established near Porto in Portugal next to the existing...
Bright Solar Power Plan Has Dark Side
Newsfeed display by CaRP
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Jobs & recruiting in solar industry
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PVPEOPLE.net - is a contingency and retained
recruiting firm specializing in the photovoltaic (PV) industry. We deliver top industry
talent who has been confidentially located, qualified and reference checked.
Key positions in manufacturing and research and development that we work on are
process engineers, design engineers, materials and research scientists, engineering and
operations managers, and Lean-Sigma/quality assurance engineers.
Other job opportunities:
Photon Magazine
RenComp
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Translation services
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Translation services for photovoltaics (spanish, dutch and german language) and
simultaneously, consecutively and bilaterally interpretation (negotiations, conferences,
guided tours, interviews, etc.
More...
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New map shows solar electricity potential of European regions
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A new map published by the European Commission shows the photovoltaic solar energy
potential of different parts of Europe. Photovoltaic Solar Cells convert sunlight
directly into electricity. In addition the interactive on-line Photovoltaic Geographical
Information System (PVGIS), developed by the Commission's in-house scientific service,
DG Joint Research Centre, allows users to estimate solar energy performance at any given
location in Europe. The information in the map shows that an identical solar system will
generate twice as much energy in sunny areas of Europe, such as Malta and Southern Spain,
than in areas such as Scotland or Northern Scandinavia. These tools are invaluable as the
EU seeks to increase the share of renewable energies in its consumption to 20% in 2020.
Map can be downloaded from
PVGIS
(PVGIS - Geographical Assessment of Solar Energy Resource and Photovoltaic Technology) web site.
PVGIS - Geographical Assessment of Solar Energy Resource and Photovoltaic Technology
with its continuous improvement and updates PVGIS (Photovoltaic Geographical Information
System) web site is one of the best solar radiation resources for estimation of PV
potential in Europe and Africa available on-line.
Source: PVGIS © European Communities, 2001-2007.
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SOL4 - BIPV systems and passive buildings
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SOL4 is an exemplary pilot project in a new semi-urban district for the sustainable
construction of a working and living environment. The building complex serves as a
business and training centre, as well as a centre of competence for advanced standards
in ecological development, construction and workplace design. It is currently the
largest passive solar office building in Austria. The skills and experience from a broad
range of the project partners and associates were brought together in a common
infrastructure and seminar programme for tenants. The resulting living and working
environment includes relax areas and other social spaces. The technologies and design
objectives implemented in the project sought to maximise "green" surfaces
(e.g., green roof systems, open infiltration surfaces, etc.). Special attention was
paid to using the latest developments of environmentally friendly construction materials
as extensively as possible. The facility's energy management system optimises ventilation
and air conditioning by means of a closed-loop heat distribution circuit with
ground-coupled and ventilation heat exchangers. Passive cooling is enabled by
concrete core activation in the panels of the roof construction. The grid-tied
photovoltaic system provides electricity to cover the remaining energy demands of
the mechanical systems. Finally, SOL4's overall ecological performance is being monitored
and continually analysed with total quality assessment methods.
More...
SOL4 office building. Picture photo Thomas Kirschner, courtesy
SOL4
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Large photovoltaic power plants
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Detailed overwiev about PV power installed (only large scale PV power plants considered)
in last ten years you may find in
"pvresources.com Annual
Report 2007 available as pdf file
Brief descriptions and some images of world's largest photovoltaic plants can you find if you follow
the link. For each plant basic data is
included - peak power, country, location, year of construction, GHG emission reduction data
etc - if available of course. Pictures of some plants listed are also included.
Largest PV power plants at the moment are Parque Solar Hoya de Los Vincentes (Murcia region), Huerta Solar La Magascona (Trujilo, Extremadura) and
Solarpark Beneixama (Alicante region) in Spain. Several large scale solar parks >10 MWp are under construction.
In past year
several large power plants were connected to the grid - some examples see below:
13,8 MW Salamanca
12,7 MW Lobosillo
11 MW Serpa
9,51 MW Milagro
8,76 MW Vianna
6 MW "Rote Jahne"
3,5 MW Aznalcóllar
U.S. Army site, Fort Carson, CO. 2 MW plant completed in December 2007. Picture courtesy
SunTechnics
Solarpark Lobosillo. Picture courtesy
Ecostream
It is almost impossible to control fast increase of installed PV power.
Till end of 2007 10 MW of world's largest thin-film project
was connected to the public grid (40 MW plant in Brandis). At the moment
photovoltaic progress is extremly fast in Spain, even in Korea several large (MW range) plants have beeing constructed. As promising european markets Italy, France and eventually Greece should also be considered.
Solarpark "Waldpolenz" (Feb 2008). Picture courtesy
juwi GmbH
Solarpark "Waldpolenz" (Aug 2007). Picture courtesy
juwi GmbH
Solarpark "Rote Jahne". Picture courtesy
juwi GmbH
Largest roof mounted plant connected to the grid in 2006 is
roof mounted solar electric plant in Muggensturm (Rastatt, Germany).
Muggensturm, roof mounted solar electric plant. Picture courtesy
Tauber Solar Management GmbH
In April 2006 large photovoltaic plant with 10 MWp was connected to the public grid in
Pocking, Germany.
Solarpark Pocking
constist of six units with 1,67 MWp each. More than 57000 Shell Solar modules are mounted
on aluminum contruction which is fixed with more than 8000 ground screws. Plant is connected to the 20 kV public
grid via six inverter units (4 x 400 MVA MSSS each unit) and six 1.6 MVA/20 kV transformers.
Solarpark Pocking 10 MWp plant. Pictures courtesy
Martin Bucher Projektentwicklungen.
Sharp Corporation’s state-of-the-art Kameyama Plant No. 2 became operational in August 2006.
As a super green factory with a high level of environmental performance designed
to minimize impacts on the environment to the greatest extent possible, the Kameyama Plant
features an energy supply system based on integrating diverse power sources distributed
within the plant into a single large-scale system independent of the utility power grid.
These power sources include one of the world’s largest photovoltaic power system (5,1 MWp)
and one of Japan’s largest fuel-cell and cogeneration systems. This system covers about one-third of the
total electric power requirements for the entire Kameyama Plant, and reduces CO2
emissions from the plant by approximately 40% compared to the level from conventional power
sources. In addition, all wastewater from manufacturing processes is recycled. Taken
together, these measures result in one of the world’s most advanced, environmentally
conscious manufacturing facilities.
In february 2006 ACCIONA Solar puts the plant
in Castejón into service. Plant consists of 400 tracking structures with 14.400 BP modules. Plant should be able to
generate about 4.400 MWh annualy. Several other MW tracking plants are also on-grid since 2005.
Tracking MW range "Solar gardens" operates in Sesma, Rada, Arguedas and Cintruénigo.
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The most attractive
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One of the most attractive european photovoltaic systems is probably
Akademie-du-Mont-Cenis in Herne, Germany. Wooden structure covered with glass and transparent
photovoltaic modules is unique sollution build on revitalised former coal mine in northern Germany
"Akademie-du-Mont-Cenis", Herne, Germany.
Picture source/copyright:
Flabeg-Solar
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The highest located plants
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World's highest located grid-connected system is located on Jungfraujoch
mountain in Switzerland - 3545 m above the sea level.
In 2005 PV plant Jungfraujoch
(effective peak power 1.13 kWp, 3454 m above sea level), which was erected in 1993 by
the PV laboratory of the Berne School of Engineering and Information technology, has
established a new record for normalised annual energy production in 2005. Despite a
line interruption of one day (23.8.2005) in the valley, in 2005 1537 kWh/kWp were
produced with a winter energy fraction of 48.5%. Thus the old record dating from 1997
(1504 kWh/kWp) was trespassed considerably. Without the line interruption, in 2005 the
production would have been even 1540 kWh/kWp. In the average of 1993 to 2005, PV plant
Jungfraujoch has produced 1407 kWh/kWp with a winter energy fraction of 46.3%.
You may find
more details about the plant on the page where world's
highest located grid-connected system are described, or on the web site of
PV-Labor der Hochschule für Technik
und Informatik (HTI) - Berner Fachhochschule.
Picture source/copyright:
PV-Labor der Hochschule für Technik und Informatik - Berner Fachhochschule
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