Montalban, Rizal Electric Blessings

         http://www.flickr.com/photos/theregeneration/2897211172


The 30-megawatt solar project of ATN Philippines Solar Energy Group Inc in Montalban, Rizal could be the second solar power plant in the Philippines next to CEPALCO 1-MW Photovoltaic Power Plant located in Cagayan de Oro – there could have been another solar power plant on some parts of the archipelago.  This is also the second renewable energy generation plant in Montalban, the first one is the Montalban Methane Power Corp. – a waste-to-energy plant.


Very few province or cities or municipalities here in the Philippines can have these opportunities. It’s like a double bladed sword. One blade to eased and help people by providing them electricity and the second blade is help conserve what was left of our precious environment.


ATN stated that it is targeting to serve Metro Manila, particularly the peak demand of malls in the high growth business districts of Quezon City. Although a bit smaller compared to the solar plants from Germany, Spain, Italy and US, this project will set as an example that we Filipinos can do it also and not just the big player.


Phil-star.com  stated that “one of the great things about the project is that, although it is electricity generation using solar energy, it can also sell electricity directly to end users under the Wholesale Electricity Sport Market (WESM) set-up. It may also negotiate with the National Power Corp. as primary off-take customers that will distribute power through the Transeco.”


The plant is located on a 324 hectares of land.

Maibarara Geothermal Facility - Closest Future Geothermal Plant in Manila.

              http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuckincustoms/1286291464


The closest geothermal energy plant in Metro Manila when pursue and finish could be this one, the Maibarara geothermal facility in Laguna. Enthusiasts don’t need to travel very far from the Metro in order to see this geothermal energy project. According to Malaya.com, this Maibarara project is located on the western flank of Mount Makiling, an inactive volcano which is part of the San Pablo volcanic field, also known as the Laguna volcanic field.


Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Co. hold 25% of the project, 65% by PetroGreen Energy Corp. and 10% PNOC-Renewable Energy Corp.


This project is still under exploration stage which includes drilling millions of pesos worth of wells for steam sources that could provide great source of renewable energy power. It may take time before this geothermal plant become operational because drilling for wells will take a lot of time. Drilling wells for very high pressure steam sources is one of the main activities and sometimes the hardest part in developing a successful geothermal plant because electricity produce will depend on the supply of steam coming out from wells.


This can be a very successful project due to its location which is its nearness to Metro Manila.

Unusual But Achievable Dream City

             http://www.flickr.com/photos/surtr/5216866879


This project of South Korea is very interesting. Reports from SunStar states that:

“ Due to rapid urbanization in this highly developed and stable republic (Korea), its government, along with its band of ecology experts, came up with a master plan of building an ""eco-city," a city that is low in carbon emission but boosting economic growth…

…  "Korea needs to develop the low-carbon and green city in Gangwon to promote the city as the "global premium city," - Professor Kwi-Gon Kim, director of the International Urban Training Center (IUTC)

Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) project development officer Reynaldo Monticalbo Estipona stated that this kind of project could also be attain here in the Philippines but only on the provinces were problems on informal settlers and garbage collection is not as worse as Metro Manila.


The Philippines should follow this model being done by Korea because the first impact that it will create is on the well-being of the citizen. Industrial Age has already passed but it leaves a dreadful virus that we must eliminate before it affects us all which is the worsening condition of air and generally the environment.


It is always my dream to live in a clean environment accompanied by great income opportunity; nothing beats a daily dose of clean air especially if you are on a daily commute to work. It’s one of the great ways to start the day. Take for example here at Sta. Rosa, Laguna, It’s not even part of Metro Manila but the quality of air here compared to Manila is almost the same. If your resistance to diseases is low it is certain that you can have runny nose almost daily especially if you inhale the emissions from public utility vehicles.


Not only that generators run by diesel and bunker fuels from factories also contribute to the worsening quality of air. If eco-city is develop, this could be the end of this Industrial Age era machineries that help build our economy but also degenerates the quality of life. This will also be the beginning of renewable energy to become the main energy sources of manufacturing facilities.


Whether possible or not in Metro Manila, for now “eco-city” must be started at other areas of the Philippines to help save what is remaining of our precious environment, help save us from the deluge pose by climate change and at the same time keep us sane by hopefully living in a low-carbon urban settlements.

Things the Philippines Can Learn from Japan

http://www.flickr.com/photos/camswitzer/5200641538




Japan's recent activities on renewable energy after what's happen to Fukushima Daiichi nulear plant is a signal not only to the Japanese people and the world but also specifically here in the Philippines. The Philippines just like Japan was blessed with lots of geothermal energy sources which can be harness to generate the needed power. We should be developing more and more renewable energy sources which is a blessing instead of planning and relying on nuclear energy sources.


Eventhough Japan only occupies 2.1% of world population or  it is the fourth largest energy consumer in the world in-spite of the population of 120 million that only occupies 2.1% of world population. Japan heavily relies on oil and coal, which amounts to over 60% of total energy usage in Japan. Japan is a nation poor in resources; therefore roughly 80% of its oil is imported from OPEC: especially, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iran. Also most coal comes from Australia and the United States.


Damage and the radiation leak at the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has shattered the public's confidence in the safety of atomic power and plunged the country's energy policy into disarray. Ahead of the disaster, Japan had planned to build enough reactors to raise nuclear power supply to meet 50 percent of demand by 2030 from 30 percent.


This should have been done and must be done because Japan in the first place has all the needed geothermal energy and can be fully develop to answer the long term energy, instead Japan relies heavily on conventional and dangerous energy sources


Steam and hot water billow and gush from deep below the ground at Japan's tens of thousands of famed hot springs and could be harnessed to drive turbines that generate electricity in a clean, safe and stable way, they say.


Although Japanese high-tech companies are leaders in geothermal technology and export it, its use is miniscule in the island nation, which has for decades relied heavily on imported fossil fuels and atomic power.


The things that happened on Japan should be a wake-up call to us Filipinos to develop renewable energy instead of  conventional energy which creates problem on our health and environment.

Philippines and Solar Photovoltaic Emerging Market

                                 http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/2102790208


While news is spreading that our beloved Philippines including Israel, Canada and South Africa will be the next emerging market for solar photovoltaics (PV) market, Italy is set to beome the largest in the world. It has already installed three times the volume of the current global leader, Germany in the first half of the year.


In 2010, it was Germany which has the biggest market in the world which is approximately 50% of the global market last year due to the installed power of almost eight gigawatts of new solar PV power.


Countries included in the top ten were Czech Republic (1,151,000 kW of Solar PV power installed in 2010), Japan (990,979 kW), the US (918,000 kW), France (719,000 kW), China (400,000 kW), Spain (392,000 kW), Australia (383,300 kW) and Belgium (357,860 kW).


The above ranking however will change specially when when the government is reducing the amount of financial incentives available for solar PV power and renewable energy developments, example of which is the Czech Republic. Japan however may inch up due to the Fukushima disaster earlier this year.


The Philippines also has a big chance of getting on in the top 10 due to massive government support on renewable energy development. Actually we need to be faster as China and India are also set to become major players. India has introduced National Solar Mission and China recently announced its own feed-in tariff system.

Rebirth of Ambuklao Hydroelectric Power Plant

            http://www.flickr.com/photos/elyouch/4893395304


An additional 105 megawatts of power will be contributed to Luzon grid when all three units of  newly rehabilitated Ambuklao hydroelectric power plant starts its commercial operation by October this year under SN Aboitiz Power-Benguet Inc. (SNAP-Benguet), a joint venture between Norway’s SN Power and Aboitiz Power Corp.. Unit 3 is the first to start operation as early as May while units 1 and 2 are currently undergoing trial operations and targeted to be fully operational by October. 


Portions of the electricity to be generated by the Ambuklao facility may be traded via the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) since all the three power units of the hydroelectric power plant have already received certificates of registration as participants. As early as June, SNAP-Benguet already joined other power generators as a seller, starting with 35 MW.

SNAP had ensured that no detail was too small for upgrading. The team had replacement done on turbines, main inlet valves, generators, transformers, switchgears, control system, circuit breakers and hydraulic structures (specifically intake gates, draft tube gates and stop logs).

This will be a new dawn for one of the Philippines earliest hydroelctric power plant that started its operation last Dec. 23, 1956 but was discontinued to operate in 2000 because of uncontrolled and heavy siltation due to the 1990 earthquake.

It is interesting to note that even the earliest power source of the Philippines came from renewable energy source.

All You Need to Know About Cruzesterification

        http://www.flickr.com/photos/robseattle/1273451

Have you heard this process before? Cruzesterification? Well, if the ongoing test conducted by Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) goes well and become succesful, this could be a breath of fresh air for our farmers who has long been in depth mud brought about by the ever increasing petrochemical prices.

According to neda.gov.ph, cruzesterification is the process of reacting the triglycerides (vegetable oils) with alcohol (methanol/ethanol) in the presence of catalysts at room temperature to produce the ester (biodiesel) and glycerol. Simply put it, cruzesterification is a process of producing biodiesel from used vegetable oil. It is a very simple process with no external heat application needed and does not require sophisticated equipment. This technology was developed by Dr. Rico O. Cruz, a Filipino expert on biofuel in Oregon, USA.

Reports from Manila Bulletin says that  “Farmers can soon cut on fuel expenses,” PhilRice said in a statement it released, describing the new technology in making biodiesel as a lot cheaper since it does not need any heating ingredients and sophisticated equipment, unlike the biodiesel sold at gasoline stations.

Dr. Cruz further stated that "Producing biodiesel using Cruzesterification makes the production of biodiesel as “easy as making coffee, in which the catalyst is the coffee, alcohol as the sugar and oil as the hot water. Blend the three ingredients and you have a coffee or a biodiesel in minutes,” Cruz said.

He said that he discovered the process from more than 20 years of research adding that he uses biodiesel in his own cars abroad.

Ingredients and corresponding costs are the following: potassium hydroxide, P80.00/kg; methanol, P80.00/L; and used oil, P400.00 per 17 kg gallon which is an affordable option for many of our farmers. In producing 100 L of biodiesel, Cruz said 100 L of used oil is needed and requires 1.1 kg of potassium hydroxide and 20 L of methanol at a production cost of P38.00/L and production time of 18 hours. Compared to current fuel price which is approximately P45.00/L and takes years to produce, vegetable based biodiesel have great advantage here.

Can we see more of our farmers mixing their fuel on the kitchen in the near future? I hope it is, they just had to have lots of used vegetable oil.

4 Helpful Renewable Energy News Via Google Alert

        http://www.flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/4370352638

I just want to share the renewable energy reports that I recieved from August 21 to 22 through google alert. I estimated that I am receiving google alerts news relating to renewable energy 10x a day and I want to share some of it here.

Item 1 and 4 are pretty much the same and related though process differenty, it is related to bio-ethanol fuel which is of great help on agricultural industry. Renewable energy craze today will surely help the nation in combatting poverty and unemployment.

Please click the link to read the whole news.

1. San Carlos BioPower to put up 18-MW biomass plant
MANILA, Philippines - San Carlos BioPower Inc. (SCBioPower) will put up an 18-megawatt (MW) biomass plant within the San Carlos Ecozone, San Carlos City, Negros Occidental that will utilize sugarcane residues as feedstock.

2. Green energy to create jobs, increase tax revenue
Over 20,000 to 50,000 “green" jobs will be created once the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 is implemented, a power company executive said over the weekend.

First Gen vice president Aloysius Santos said that the wind industry is expected to generate 5,000 to 6,000 jobs from 220 megawatts (MW) in wind projects. Lopez-owned First Gen is developing an 86 MW wind farm in Ilocos Norte.

3. Agus-Pulangui sale to trigger higher electricity rates for Mindanao
MANILA, Philippines — The proposed privatization of 900-megawatt Agus and Pulangui hydro-power plants is being seen as an opportunity to finally reflect the true cost of electricity in the Mindanao grid and could mean higher power rates for Mindanao consumers, who have been enjoying lower rates than the rest of the country.

4. DA says Phl is ready to export sugar
QUEZON CITY, Aug. 22 (PIA) -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) said over the weekend the Philippines is poised to export at least 300,000 metric tons (MT) of raw and refined sugar this crop year (CY) due to a bumper sugarcane harvest...

... Likewise, the DA-SRA will support the development of other feasible alternative uses of sugarcane and its by-products such as bio-ethanol and power co-generation.
“As we near the realization of the full potential of sugarcane especially in biofuel, and with a more stable supply, we anticipate a more productive and profitable Philippine sugar industry,”Alcala said to over 2,000 conference delegates from Europe, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Brazil, Indonesia, China and Hongkong, Singapore, and Africa.

A Story About Negros Island Geothermal Energy Sources

         wikipedia.org


I really enjoyed it every time I think back that I grow in a community wherein electricity were sourced out from renewable energy. I came from a town named Cauayan from the province of Negros Occidental in the island of Negros on the central part of the Philippines.

The province central icon beside sugarcane is the legendary volcano Mt. Kanlaon. People has lots of stories to tell about Mt. Kanlaon, some are true (sometimes tragic) and the others, legend. But this mysterious volcano is also a symbol of island's economic power and resiliency because it is a huge potential for geothermal energy sources.

This volcanic profile of Negros island has resulted to the development of two geothermal energy plant. The Northern Negros Geothermal Power Plant in Negros Occidental and the Palinpinon Geothermal Power Plant in Negros Oriental. This two plants are the major power supplier of electricity of the island.

It is also a pride of the Filipino people because in terms of installed geothermal electricity capacity, the Philippines with a capacity of 1904 MW as of 2010 is on the top 3 globally  together with the United States and Indonesia.

One thing great about geothermal being the source of electricity is that it didn't have any hazardous substance that would directly affect human health, in other words it didn't create pollution and therefore makes people happpy. Another thing is that the sources is renewable - it came from steam underneath the earth's surface.

The Negros island is lucky enough that it have an abundant geothermal energy sources which not just serve as an eco-tourist destination but also gives every Negrosanon a stable power supply.

This Could Be Your Dream Job

            http://www.flickr.com/photos/harshadsharma/557376090

Have you read the news from philstar.com today? No its not about the lack of jobs here in the Philippines that caused our beloved OFWs to work in dangerous foreign land than to stay here. Its actually the opposite of it. And I believed has been done in other countries, a sort of dream jobs for people who wholeheartedly and seriously 'born' to protect and preserve the environment.

Here's a quote of the report:

"According to Labor Undersecretary Lourdes Trasmonte, the government is now looking at the emergence of new kinds of employment as a result of ongoing efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Trasmonte said protecting the country’s environment from the negative effects of climate change would require new skills in different industries.
She said the shift to more environment-friendly industries would also pave the way for a new pattern of production and give rise to new demand for labor.
“There are new skills to be needed by the industry and these are what we are calling green jobs or those that contribute substantially to preserving or restoring the environment,” she said...  

... new jobs likely to emerge are those involved in solid waste management, renewable energy, natural resources preservation, and disaster risk reduction management."

This is good news for me because more than just decreasing the un-employment rate here at PH by adding new kind of jobs and also preserving the environment, this will also create an immeasurable impact on the awareness and maybe, just maybe, on the consciousness of every Filipino, an environmental awareness.

Something that no amount of environment preservation campaign can compensate because you are injecting an idea through a satisfying labor which also puts food on the table. An idea that should be inside each one of us so that we can preserve and protect on what remains of our precious nature.

The world will literally become a better place if more and more environment and nature oriented jobs are created.

What Every Solar Company Should Know

        http://www.flickr.com/photos/27889738@N07/3625411004


This past days as you may have notice, all of my posts were all related to solar energy. It's because it is developing at a faster rate compared to other renewable energy sources.


Solar energy for me is the most convenient and the easiest way to install and operate compared to say wind energy and hydro-energy . Because of this, several companies manufacturing solar panels and solar cells emerged in the past few years. Others (electronics and semiconductor manufacturing companies) as of the moment were also catching up and starting to build there own solar cell and solar cell related products.


This scenario has resulted to very tight and fierce competition on who could deliver the most efficient and cheaper products.


Then came the Chinese manufacturer which could manufacture the same product at a lower price compared to any competitor out there. This is the reason why one of the great American companies, Evergreen Solar Inc., once a darling of the U.S. solar industry, according to Wall Street Journal,  filed for bankruptcy protection this week, saying it couldn't compete with Chinese competitors without a reorganization—a sign of the difficulty in creating "green" U.S. manufacturing jobs amid bruising competition across the globe.


The market for solar panels is expanding world-wide. But the key thing driving demand is increasingly lower prices, which is forcing U.S. firms into a cutthroat cost-cutting war with rivals in China and elsewhere.


In all of this competition, it couldn't be denied that China is on the rise in terms of economy and to be specific - its manufacturing power which could deliver solar products at a lower price that holds the reasons why many companies resorted to stiff cost cutting measures just to survive. However, solar companies should not forget that it is the consumers that would ultimately define and dictate their future survival.

The World's Top Ten Most Important Solar Companies

        http://www.flickr.com/photos/pnnl/4296222988/


I'm dreaming that someday the Philippines could have its own solar company or should I say solar companies. Those that would manufacture our own solar photo-voltaic cells which can be use by Filipinos, with a much lower cost than the current solar cell, particularly by people living on far flung areas. Maybe that would take a long time from now, less than thirty years I hope.


We'll its just a dream of mine but for now I just want to share the top 10 publicly listed solar companies based on market capitalization.


Market capitalization (often called market cap) is a measurement of the size of a business enterprise (corporation) equal to the share price times the number of shares that have been authorized, issued, and purchased by investors (shares outstanding) of a publicly traded company.

	Company name	Market capitalization
1	First Solar Inc.	$10,786,926,395.00
2	GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd.	$8,384,340,527.22
3	SMA Solar Technology AG	$3,366,597,470.00
4	Renewable Energy Corporation (REC)	$2,018,125,961.28
5	Motech Industries Inc.	$1,942,051,560.00
6	GT Solar International Inc.	$1,911,070,920.00
7	Trina Solar Ltd.	$1,503,836,000.00
8	Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd.	$1,343,904,080.00
9	SolarWorld AG	$1,328,764,164.00
10	SunPower Corp.	$1,282,664,820.00

Market capitalization of this companies shows that solar energy and renewable energy as a whole are on the rise and will replace most of the conventional energy sources that we are utilizing today sooner than we think. 




source: solarplaza.com

Solar Energy Demand Grows Despite High Cost of Power Generation

                   http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-samfield/4510113909


Demand is significantly growing for solar energy as consumers from both residential and corporate/industries are now more aware of implementing energy efficiency although power generation from this type of energy source is four times more expensive than the traditional sources.


According to Energy Smart Program chairman Al Santos, the establishment of more solar energy source in the Philippines is still on the experimental stage, and the availability of land remains an issue because of cost concerns. More commercial buildings and households have installed solar energy facilities on their rooftops. A good model that should be followed by more companies, and even by residential users.


Philippine government should strongly implement effective incentive strategies to power producers in setting up plants for renewable energy to achieve in the fastest way possible its plan of tripling the country’s dependence on renewable energy to 15,000 megawatts in the next 20 years.


By increasing our dependency on renewable energy we may also achieve the Kyoto Protocol requirement wherein it requires all member states of the United Nations to reduce their carbon emissions and mitigate the worsening changes in the world’s climate.

An Inside Look on PS10 Solar Power Plant

        http://www.flickr.com/photos/langalex/3546825418


The video below is an inside look of PS10 solar thermal power station located in Seville, Andalucia, Spain. This type of solar power station is known as solar tower. A very massive type of solar energy sources due to the area occupied by lenses called heliostats that directs sunlight on a single tower.


The tower is where the water is converted into steam by sunlight heat to power a turbine. Newer designs uses liquid sodium and molten salts (40% potassium nitrate, 60% sodium nitrate) as the working fluids. These working fluids have high heat capacity, which can be used to store the energy before using it to boil water to drive turbines. These designs allow power to be generated even when there is no sun unlike conventional solar panels which are operational only when there is sunlight.


PS10 Solar Power Plant


I think this is the future of solar energy generation especially for large industrial consumption. Countries surrounding the equator like the Philippines should start exploring possibilities in order to have this kind of renewable energy sources. Its a common knowledge that this type of energy is inexhaustible and doesn't produce toxic substance and therefore is the major focus of future energy development.


The number of projects will be the driving force on the lowering of power prices for this type of energy sources. The more energy generating plants of this type are develop the lower the electricity cost will be.

Revealed: Why Solar Panel Installation Increases Home Value

        http://www.flickr.com/photos/earthworm/35764674


I just read this post on smartplanet.com by David Worthington about installation of solar panels at home to generate electricity and it seems to be a good idea especially for real estate investors in order to add value to the house that they are selling.


Here's the post.


It’s well established that updating a bathroom or remodeling a kitchen are among the most cost effective ways to raise a home’s value. What’s lesser known is that renewable energy also fetches a more premium price from buyers.


Analysis recently published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), an independent economic policy think tank, found that solar photovoltaic (PV) panels add between 3 percent and 4 percent to the value of a home on average.


“This comparison suggests that, on average, homeowners fully recover their costs of installing solar panels upon sale of the property,” the study says. NBER examined home sales in San Diego and Sacramento, California.


The NBER is headquartered in Cambridge, MA, and was founded in 1920. Its president emeritus is former Bush economics guru Martin Feldstein. SourceWatch notes that NBER has trended toward Republican policy positions.


CNET’s Martin LaMonica reported that the analysis mirrors the findings of a study published by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in April, which concluded that solar panels have a “sizeable effect” on home values.


Homeowners should be aware that solar power is becoming more affordable. In June, Ernst & Young and IHS iSuppli both forecasted that the cost of solar panels would plunge to $1.00 per watt.


General Electric’s global research director has predicted that new technology breakthroughs are making it possible for solar generated electricity to be the most economical choice within the next three to five years over fossil fuels and nuclear power.


I think it's possible here in the Philippine settings especially now that more and more Pinoys are embracing renewable energy sources as a means of producing electricity for domestic consumptions.




source: smartplanet

Increasing Numbers of Solar Energy Companies, What It Can Do for You. Part 2

                  http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsbarrie/228210466


Continuation of the list of companies (you can read the first part here) that jumped into solar cell manufacturing. 


INDIA
1. Moser Baer
2. Solar Semiconductor
3. IndoSolar
4. Topsun Solar
5. Titan Energy
6. PLG Power
7. Maharishi Solar
8. Kotak Urja
9. Photon Energy Systems
10. Lanco Solar
11 BHEL
12.BEL


CHINA
1. Suntech
2. Yingli Green Energy
3. Trina Solar
4. Hanwha Solar One
5. LDK Solar
6. Renesola
7. Jinko Solar
8. Trony Solar
9. GCL Poly 
10. Egwing
11. Singyes Solar
12. Linuo
13. Hanglong
14. Shunda
15. Asia Silicon
16. BYD Solar


TAIWAN
1. Gintech
2. Neo Solar
3. Del Solar
4. E-Ton
5. SolarTech 
6. Motech
7. TSMC
8. AUO
9. Green Energy Technology
10. SAS - Sino American Silicon
11. Taiwan Polysilcon (TPSI) 
12. Delta Electronics
13. Giga Solar Materials
14. Mosel Viteltic
15. Big Sun
16. Tainergy
17. Sunrise
18. Sun-Q
19. Top Cell
20. TGE
21. Ever Energy
22. Danen Technology
23. Eversol
24. Wafer Works
25. PCM
26. Eaton
27. Alberex
28. Motech


JAPAN
1. Sharp
2. Sanyo-Panasonic
3. Kyocera
4. Mitsubishi
5. Mitsui
6. Toshiba
7. Honda 
8. Solar Frontier
9. Tokuyama



I'm asking myself, why this so many (110 companies all in all)? Well the answer maybe lie on the fact that people are becoming more aware of the importance of renewable energy and the positive impact that it brings on the environment.


Another thing is that more than the environment protection awareness of the people, there are other factors that drives the increase of companies venturing into solar energy field. Market for this product steadily increase as petroleum price also continue to increase. The convenience of solar panels to be installed even in the remotest areas makes it more appealing. Environmental hazard that other conventional energy brought to the community has resulted to the maturing of the market where we choose those things that brings the result that we wanted but does not undermined our existence.

Increasing Solar Energy Companies Numbers, What it can Do for You.

          http://www.flickr.com/photos/10159247@N04/4347018419/

A deluge of semiconductors, consumer electronic manufacturing companies and even car companies are somewhat riding on the upward trend of solar energy market. They are manufacturing direct and indirect materials for solar cell assembly. With this development going on, it's not hard to believe that renewable energy is steadily rising and sooner will become the next big thing that would replace our dependency on conventional fuel.

How would you feel if your waking up everyday to a fresh air and not with smoke from vehicles passing on your house everyday, pretty awesome isn't it?

SOUTH KOREA

1. OCI Chemical 

2. Hyundai Heavy Industries 

3. LG

4. Samsung 

5. POSCO

6. Hanwha Chemicals

7. Nexolon

GERMANY

1. Wacker Chemie

2. Q-Cells

3. Bosch

4. Schott

5. SMA Solar

6. Fronius Iternational

7. Schieder Electric

8. Centrotherm Photovoltaic AG

9. Roth and Rau

10 Meyer Berger

11 Manz Automation

12 ALD Vacuum Technologies

USA

1. Miasole

2. Solyndra

3. Nanosolar

4. Abound Solar

5. Ascent Solar

6. Energy Conversion Devices

7. General Electric

8. SunEdison/MEMC

9. Sunpower

10. First Solar

11. Sungevity 

12. SolarCity 

13. SunRun

14. Akeena/Westinghouse Solar (WEST)

15. Real Goods Solar (RSOL)

16. Verengo Solar 

17. Borrego Solar

18. Power-One

19. Satcon

20. Advanced Energy

21. Hemlock Semiconductor (HSG)

22. Applied Materials

23. Evergreen Solar

24. Emkore

25. GT Solar

26 STRI

These are the industry that will help to achieve our dream of cleaner air plus the more industries going into solar cell business the lower the price of solar cell become.

The second part of the list will be post here tomorrow.