Photovoltaic Systems

Archive for January, 2012

One dollar per watt: that’s the mark the solar industry is hoping to hit in order to become cost-competitive with conventional energies. In a bid to reach this magic number in the next two years, various Asian manufacturers are striving to reduce costs by increasing volume production. An alternative direction that will benefit the industry in the long term is to target increased efficiencies primarily through new manufacturing processes, new higher-quality materials for metallization and changing the structure of the cell. Nanotechnology companies have developed these new materials and processes that enable manufacturers to both increase quality and lower-cost production, bringing the era of solar grid parity closer than ever before.

The New England solar market is extremely strong. But even with these strong existing players, there is still room for more competition and new players enter every day. With that said, there are number of opportunities and risks that have the ability to impact industry growth and profits.
In December and January, I spent a lot of time talking with

For the Solar Decathlon enthusiasts and early planners, here’s a heads up that Solar Decathlon 2013 will be held at Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California, according to the Department of Energy.  In August 2011, we mentioned that the DOE was shopping around for a new location.  Turns out the new location is the site of the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, which Irvine will convert into sustainable parkland for family recreation.  Teams will install their homes on the paved runway.

In addition, the DOE announced the 20 teams that will participate in the solar-powered event.  The list includes nine returning teams, 11 new teams, and four international teams.  Here they are:

• Arizona State University and The University of New Mexico (Tempe, Arizona, and Albuquerque, New Mexico)
• Czech Technical University (Prague, Czech Republic)
• Hampton University and Old Dominion University (Hampton and Norfolk, Virginia)
• Middlebury College (Middlebury, Vermont)
• Missouri University of Science and Technology (Rolla, Missouri)
• Norwich University (Northfield, Vermont)
• Queens University, Carleton University, and Algonquin College (Kingston and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)
• Santa Clara University (Santa Clara, California)
• Southern California Institute of Architecture and California Institute of Technology (Los Angeles, California)
• Stanford University (Palo Alto, California)
• Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken, New Jersey)
• The Catholic University of America, George Washington University, and American University (Washington, DC)
• The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Charlotte, North Carolina)
• The University of Texas at El Paso and El Paso Community College (El Paso, Texas)
• University of Calgary (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
• University of Louisville, Ball State University and University of Kentucky (Louisville, Kentucky; Muncie, Indiana; and Lexington, Kentucky)
• University of Nevada Las Vegas (Las Vegas, Nevada)
• University of Southern California (Los Angeles, California)
• Vienna University of Technology (Vienna, Austria)
• West Virginia University (Morgantown, West Virginia)

Check out our Solar Decathlon archives in the mean time.

Related Articles on JetsonGreen.com:

1. Solar Decathlon: Let The Games Begin!
2. 19 Solar Decathlon Homes for 2011
3. 20 Solar Decathlon Designs for 2011