The Truth About US Solar Power Market

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Although a number of companies, including Solyndra and Evergreen Solar went out of business entirely in the US, installations of solar panels have skyrocketed 69 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, thanks largely to commercial and government projects, according to an industry trade group report released Tuesday. U.S. manufacturing is an entirely different story, where success is mixed and highly dependent on where the products are headed.

For the concentrating solar power market and concentrating photovoltaics, there are currently 600 MW under construction in the US, with an additional 7 GW at various stages of development.

The only segment of the solar power market which did not grow in the Q2 2011 was the residential PV market, which declined for the second consecutive quarter. During Q2, 60 MW were installed, a decline of 5.7% over the previous year. However, the Solar Market Insight expects the residential market to pick up, as residential solar-leasing programs expand.

Meanwhile, companies that make solar products in the U.S. and sell directly to the domestic market have fared much better. The U.S. solar market is the fastest growing market in the world, Rhone Resch, executive director of the Solar Energy Industries Association said in a teleconference Tuesday to discuss the industry report.

Foreign and domestic companies keen on tapping the U.S. market are increasingly building factories here. Resch made particular note of Chinese solar panel maker Suntech Power, which opened last year a 117,000-square-foot plant in Goodyear, Arizona. In May, the company added a third production shift.

This growth in solar power market in the US has an impact here in the Philippines as more US base solar cell companies put up manufacturing plants in different parts of the countries either as direct manufacturers or in sub-contractors.

source: smartplanet

An Inside Look on PS10 Solar Power Plant

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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

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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