Solar Power Costs 50% Lower than Last Year

2009 Nov 27

Written by Zachary Shahan

New research by leading alternative energy research firm New Energy Finance finds that solar power will cost less by about 50% at the end of 2009 compared to the end of 2008.

The costs are pre-subsidy, so they could be much lower if you take better government subsidies into account.

The research company found that equipment costs (in solar, wind, and other sectors) decreased throughout the year but these were offset by increasing financing costs. However, equipment prices are expected to continue falling whereas the financing market is expected to get better.

New Energy Finance CEO Michael Liebreich says: “as capital markets loosen up and equipment prices continue their decline, we will see the levelized costs decline, finishing the year 10 percent below the end of last year across the board and far more than that in solar.”

New Energy Finance found that thin-film solar will be about 25% cheaper than crystalline silicon technology. In a related story, iSuppli presented a couple weeks ago that as a result of these dropping thin-film solar panel prices, thin-film technologies are expected to take a larger and larger portion of the market share in the coming years.

In addition to solar costs being down, New Energy Finance found the costs of wind turbines to be down 18-20% below early 2008 levels. In total, the levelised cost (pre-subsidy, lifetime cost per kWh) of other renewable energy sectors will be down by about 10%, according to the researchers.

The solar costs decrease continues a 10 year trend of lower and lower costs.

But it isn’t only solar that’s down in cost. It’s other renewable energy sources, too.

Read more: http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/27/solar-power-costs-50-lower-than-last-year/

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BMW Hydrogen 7 with an engine that can run on hydrogen or gasoline.

2009 Nov 20

The BMW Hydrogen 7 is not a car functionally equivalent to one of gasoline, has several limitations, some of them severe. However, it is a very interesting first step as an alternative to fossil fuel.

The V12 engine is a 6.0-litre engine capacity. When working with gasoline is equivalent to a BMW 7 Series its normal power, which has been reduced to 260 hp (760il gives 445). When working with hydrogen, benefits are the same as with gasoline.

When working with hydrogen, the only emissions of carbon that have BMW Hydrogen 7 (CO2 or oil) come from the lubricant; constitute a negligible quantity compared to the emissions produced by burning any fuel (hydrogen is a fuel but not a fuel).

Read more: http://carsstyling.blogspot.com/2009/11/bmw-hydrogen-7.html

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Long Live Hydrogen: Automakers and Researchers Push Ahead

2009 Nov 4

Even without criticism from the likes of Chu and Richter, hydrogen appears to be in trouble. Energy firm BP—part of the Big Oil crowd that EV conspiracists claim are behind the hydrogen push—has dropped its research into hydrogen for transportation. And while the restoration of DOE funds was seen as a victory by hydrogen supporters, $204 million is a pittance compared to the more than $8 billion in federal loans to automakers for EV production and research. Plus, there's the more ineffable sense of momentum. EVs have it, with new plug-ins announced monthly and the hype surrounding Tesla and Fisker's flashy vehicles, not to mention the auto industry's biggest gamble, GM's Volt. On the hydrogen side there is GM's tiny, blink-and-you'll-miss-them fleet of fuel cell Equinoxes and Honda's FCX Clarity, an unassuming sedan that requires approval from Honda to lease, based on your proximity to a hydrogen fueling station. Consider that GM's ill-fated EV1 was also lease-only, back in 1996, and it's easy to see the fuel cell vehicle as either seriously delayed, or headed for the same compactors that devoured hundreds of EV1's.

There are hydrogen holdouts, though, who point out that the inevitability of the EV may have been oversold. "There are a ton of ‘ifs' conspiring against batteries," says Craig Scott, manager of Toyota's Advanced Technologies Group. "People on the other side underestimate the challenge of electric-vehicle infrastructure. There are a very large percentage of people who don't have garages to plug into. And it will take billions to upgrade to a smart grid, so that, come 5 pm, you don't plug in and take down the neighborhood." Scott, it should be noted, also oversees Toyota's electrified vehicles. But the current anti-hydrogen sentiment has him playing defense. Technically speaking, Toyota takes the same stance as its competitors—hydrogen looks slow, but when you track the rate of progress, it's a research success story. "Take where we were in 1996 and where we are in 2009, and you'll see the fuel cell has had leaps and bounds greater development than the EV," Scott says. "The fuel cell vehicle used to have to tow around its power train in a gigantic trailer. Now we have refueling in 3 to 4 minutes and a range over 400 miles." By comparison, Scott claims that today's EV's are still plagued with short ranges and have "almost identical charge times" to that of Toyota's electric RAV4 in 1997. Like many automakers, Toyota plans to release plug-ins in the next couple of years, and hydrogen vehicles a few years later, possibly as soon as 2015.

Read more: http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4335827.html?page=2

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Lockheed Martin Installs Solar Power Streetlights in Florida

2009-11-05
Lockheed Martin, an advanced technology company that got its start working in the aerospace industry, has installed 35 solar LED (light emitting diode) streetlights at its Orange County, Florida site, where the company recently won a contract to develop the Joint Strike Fighter and peripheral training, support and targeting systems.

The streetlights aren’t the first solar-powered outdoor lights in Florida, but they do represent the state’s largest installation, and their cost - $342,000 over 20 years, including purchase price and maintenance – still comes in considerably lower than the equivalent cost for conventional street lighting ($563,000, including new wiring and the cost of electricity).

In addition, the solar-powered LEDs reduce carbon emissions generated by fossil-fuel burning power plants by an estimated 17,000 tons over their lifetime, which is the equivalent of taking 3,000 cars off the road.

Using a fraction of the electricity of ordinary street lighting, the solar-powered lights are easily recognizable by the bluish tint of the light they emit. They also focus that lighting, unlike conventional street lights which shine in all directions. This means that many brands of solar LEDs qualify under the “Dark Sky” requirements of an increasing number of municipalities.


Read more: http://tinyurl.com/y8kkjxg

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