How farmers can install solar panels in fields without damaging the rest of their operation

Snapshot freddy/Shutterstock Austin Kay, Swansea UniversityAs the world races to meet net-zero targets, emissions from all industrial sectors must be reduced more urgently than ever. Agriculture is an important area of focus as it contributes up to 22% of global greenhouse gas emissions. One approach to decarbonising agriculture involves integrating solar panels – or photovoltaics (PVs) – into fields of crops, greenhouses and livestock areas. Often known as agrivoltaics, this can help farmers reduce their carbon footprint while continuing to produce food. Agrivoltaics can also mitigate one of the main criticisms often made of solar power – that solar farms “waste” vast tracts of agricultural land that could otherwise be used for food production. In reality, solar farms currently occupy only 0.15% of the UK’s total land – not much compared to the 70% of land devoted to agriculture. The simplest example of an agrivoltaic system would be conventional, crystalline silicon PVs (the market-leading type of solar panels), installed in fields alongside livestock. This method of farm diversification has become increasingly popular in recent years for three main reasons. First, it enhances biodiversity as it means the fields are not being used for just one crop (monoculture), undergoing regular crop rotation, or being harvested...

Read More........→February 12, 2025

China building more wind, solar capacity than rest of world combined: report

BEIJING - China is building almost twice as much wind and solar energy capacity as every other country combined, research published on Thursday showed.The world's second-largest economy is the biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that drive climate change.China has committed to bring carbon emissions to a peak by 2030 and to net zero by 2060.It has endured several waves of extreme weather in recent months that scientists say are rendered more severe by climate change.China currently has a total of 339 gigawatts (GW) of capacity under construction, including 159 GW of wind and 180 GW of solar.That is "nearly twice as much as the rest of the world combined", according to the study by Global Energy Monitor, a US-based NGO.The figure far exceeds the second-ranked nation, the United States, which is building a total of just 40 GW, the report said.It said China has broken ground on a third of new wind and solar capacity it has announced to date, compared to a global average of just seven percent."The stark contrast in construction rates illustrates the active nature of China's commitment to building renewables projects," the study said.China's national grid still relies on heavily polluting coal plants to deal with surges in power demandAFP/File | HECTOR RETAMALBeijing's vast renewable energy buildout does have some drawbacks.The national...

Read More........→October 26, 2024

India's installed renewable energy capacity reaches 132.15 GW

Image by andreas160578 from Pixabay As of 29 February 2020, India’s cumulative renewable energy capacity stood at 132.15 Giga Watts, with an additional capacity of 46.69 GW under various stages of implementation and 34.07 GW under various stages of bidding. As on same date, the country had cumulative installed capacity of 138.93 GW from non-fossil fuels sources. The cumulative renewable energy capacity and cumulative capacity from non-fossil fuel sources constituted 35.80 per cent and 37.63 per cent of total electricity generation capacity of 369.12 GW installed in the country as on 29 February 2020, respectively. As part of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions as per the Paris Accord on Climate Change, India has undertaken to install at least 40 per cent of its total electricity generation capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030. India has set itself an ambitious target of 175 Giga Watts (GW) of renewable capacity by the year 2022, and is aiming at 450 GW by 2030. India’s primary energy consumption hit 809.2 million tonnes of oil equivalent in 2018, according to BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy. On this metric, the country is behind only China and the US. India’s installed capacity — for all energy sources — was a little under 369 GW at the end of January 2020, according to government figures. Source:...

Read More........→June 21, 2020

Spain: Government expects solar to dominate by 2030 with up to 77 GW

Spain has currently an installed PV power of around 4.8 GW. Image: Solaria Energía In a new report, the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Digital Agenda has predicted that solar will become the country’s largest electricity source by the end of the next decade. Cumulative installed PV power could even reach 77 GW by the end of 2030, according to the most bullish scenario drafted by the Spanish government.APRIL 3, 2018 EMILIANO BELLINI Spain’s Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Digital Agenda has published a new report, including new growth scenarios for the future of the Spanish energy market, which recognizes solar as the future cheapest source of power, and the dominance of PV above all other energy sources by 2030. The first scenario, called the “distributed generation scenario” (DG), forecasts strong development of renewable energy distributed generation coupled with storage systems. According to the most optimistic figures provided by the ministry, solar is expected to reach a power production capacity of 47.1 TWh by 2030, thus becoming the country’s leading power source, followed by wind (31.0 TWh), combined cycle plants (24.5 TWh), hydropower (23.0 TWh), cogeneration facilities (8.5 TWh), and nuclear power (7.1 TWh). Overall, storage is expected to account for 2.3 TWh of total demand. Under...

Read More........→April 07, 2018

Cheaper, More Reliable Solar Power with New World Record for Polymer Solar Cells

Credit: Stefan Jerrevång/Linkoping university Polymer solar cells can be even cheaper and more reliable thanks to a breakthrough by scientists at Linköping University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). This work is about avoiding costly and unstable fullerenes. Polymer solar cells have in recent years emerged as a low cost alternative to silicon solar cells. In order to obtain high efficiency, fullerenes are usually required in polymer solar cells to separate charge carriers. However, fullerenes are unstable under illumination, and form large crystals at high temperatures. Polymer solar cells manufactured using low-cost roll-to-roll printing technology, demonstrated here by professors Olle Inganäs (right) and Shimelis Admassie. Now, a team of chemists led by Professor Jianhui Hou at the CAS set a new world record for fullerene-free polymer solar cells by developing a unique combination of a polymer called PBDB-T and a small molecule called ITIC. With this combination, the sun's energy is converted with an efficiency of 11%, a value that strikes most solar cells with fullerenes, and all without fullerenes. Feng Gao, together with his colleagues Olle Inganäs and Deping Qian at Linköping University, have characterized the loss spectroscopy of photovoltage (Voc), a key figure for solar cells, and proposed approaches...

Read More........→April 23, 2016

Google launches new mapping and analysis tool for potential solar customers

BY:  PV MAGAZINE STAFF: The tech giant's latest foray into renewable energy involves aggregating information for customers looking to set up a new pv system, complete with shading analysis, financials and information on local installers. Project Sunroof is currently limited to San Francisco, Fresno and Boston. On Monday Google launched Project Sunroof, a new tool to provide information for prospective solar customers. The product utilizes Google Maps' vast data and a host of other resources, in a bid to make the choice to install PV “easy and understandable for anyone”. When an individual interested in installing PV provides his or her address, the program will provide a complete shading analysis, including trees and other obstructions that could lead to complications in output, as well as cloud patterns. The program is currently limited to San Francisco, Fresno and Boston, however Google plans to extend it to the entire nation. The program then asks for information on customer electricity usage, in order to calculate the optimal system size, with an aim towards 100% coverage. The program also provides information on federal, state and utility rebates and incentives, as well as renewable energy credits and net metering. Finally, Project Sunroof provides potential customers with information on solar providers in their...

Read More........→August 22, 2015

Solar-powered plane breaks solo flight record

The solar-powered aircraft, Solar Impulse, flying from Japan to Hawaii, on the most perilous leg of a round-the-globe bid, has beaten the record for the longest solo flight, organisers said yesterday. They admitted though that veteran Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg was exhausted after over four days of continuous flying, which made the final 24 hours of flight particularly challenging. The plane was set to land this morning local time at Kalaeloa Airport on the main Hawaiian island of Oahu, some 20 miles (30 kilometers) west of Honolulu. By 7:30pm GMT (1am IST, Friday) on Thursday, Solar Impulse 2 had traveled 86 per cent of the way to the tropical US state, after flying 7,075 kilometers. However, it was in the process of crossing a cold front that required careful navigation on the part of Borschberg, which would significantly increase stress levels for the 62-year-old. Borschberg had so far flown over 97 hours easily beating the previous longest solo endurance flight undertaken in 2006. The Japan to Hawaii trip was expected to take 120 hours. The Swiss aviator was napping for only 20 minutes at a time so as to maintain control of the pioneering plane and has on the plane a parachute and life raft, in case he needed to ditch in the Pacific. The experimental solar-powered aircraft left Japan around 6pm GMT (11:30pm IST) on Sunday...

Read More........→July 05, 2015

Solar-powered Formula E can overtake Formula 1, says Richard Branson

The Virgin tycoon believes all-electric and solar-powered racing cars will prove more attractive to sponsors and racing enthusiasts within the next four or five years. Richard Branson celebrates with Formula E inaugural champion Nelson Piquet Jr in London. Richard Branson, the British billionaire and owner of the Virgin brand, suggested at the weekend that the pace of development of electric vehicles (EV) is so great that the all-electric Formula E racing series will soon surpass Formula 1 as the de facto choice for racing enthusiasts and sponsors. Speaking ahead of the U.K.’s first-ever 100% electric motor car race in London at the weekend – which featured solar-charged vehicles at the Battersea Park track in front of 60,000 spectators – Branson was bullish on EVs’ potential to seriously disrupt the automobile industry in all its guises."I think there is still going to be room for Formula 1 in the next few years, but four or five years from now you will see Formula E overtaking Formula 1," said the tycoon. "Just as clean energy type of businesses will power ahead of other types of businesses." Branson said that he is "willing to bet" that 20 years from now no new vehicles will be made anywhere in the world that are not powered by an electric battery. "The current technology is antiquated and polluting and will disappear. Like...

Read More........→July 04, 2015

Google and SunEdison to develop new solar project on an old oil field

Google recently finalised an investment to install an 82MW solar power plant on top of an old oil and gas field in California. The new installation will be located in California’s Kern County after Google signed a deal with solar company SunEdison. The Regulus solar plant will generate enough energy to power 10,000 homes and will be SunEdison’s largest developed and constructed project in North America. It is expected to begin operating later this year. The site was once the home of 30 oil wells but now there are only five as the oil resources were depleted. The solar project will be funded with the help of Google’s $145 million equity commitment and will bring 650 jobs to Kern County as well as feeding 82MW of clean solar energy into the grid via a 20-year power purchase agreement. Prudential Capital Group also provided financing for the project. The structured financing arrangements were developed, designed and executed by SunEdison which will be responsible for construction of the plant itself. It will consist of over 248,000 SunEdison mono-crystalline solar PV modules. California is committed to increasing the amount of energy it generates from renewable sources. The Kern County project is the latest of 17 renewable energy investments Google has made since 2010, including 5 in California. “We’re continually looking for...

Read More........→October 04, 2014

Gen-next solar plane to fly around the world in 2015

The solar plane, dubbed Solar Impulse 2, will circumnavigate the world in March 2015. (Reuters) A next generation solar-powered plane that will fly around the world for five consecutive days next year without using any fuel has been developed. The solar plane, dubbed Solar Impulse 2, will circumnavigate the world in March 2015. Swiss pilots Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, who unveiled the futuristic flying machine in a ceremony, hopes to accomplish the first around-the-world flight in a solar-powered aircraft. Solar Impulse officials said the plane will take off from the Gulf region, and will fly over the Arabian Sea, China, the Pacific Ocean, the US, the Atlantic Ocean and Southern Europe or North Africa. Landings will be made every few days to change pilots and to accommodate outreach events with participating governments and schools, ‘LiveScience’ reported. “Today, we are one step closer to our dream of flying around the world on solar power,” Piccard said. Solar Impulse 2 has a wingspan that stretches 72 meters, longer than a Boeing 747 commercial jet. According to the company, the wings are covered with 17,000 solar cells that power the plane’s various systems. The upgraded aircraft also features a larger cockpit with better ergonomic designs, which will help Borschberg and Piccard live comfortably in the space...

Read More........→April 16, 2014

Largest Solar System Moon Detailed in Geologic Map

Animation of a rotating globe of Jupiter's moon Ganymede, with a geologic map superimposed over a global color mosaic. The 37-second animation begins as a global color mosaic image of the moon then quickly fades in the geologic map. The views incorporate the best available imagery from NASA's Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft and NASA's Galileo spacecraft. To present the best information in a single view of Jupiter's moon Ganymede, a global image mosaic was assembled, incorporating the best available imagery from NASA's Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft and NASA's Galileo spacecraft. This image shows Ganymede centered at 200 west longitude. This mosaic (right) served as the base map for the geologic map of Ganymede (left). Video credit (top): USGS Astrogeology Science Center/Wheaton/ASU/NASA/JPL-Caltech; image credit (bottom): USGS Astrogeology Science Center/Wheaton/NASA/JPL-Caltech Note: For more information, see Largest Solar System Moon Detailed in Geologic Map. Source: Article...

Read More........→February 18, 2014

5 Reasons to Love Solar Car Racing

This week 32 solar powered cars from 17 countries have converged on Australia’s outback to compete for the title of World Solar Car Champion. The race, the “World Solar Challenge” takes place every two years – giving teams ample time to raise money, design, build and test their dream vehicles. It’s a unique event and there are 5 reasons to love every part of it. 1. Sexy: The silhouette of a solar car has always held the public’s fascination. The cars are so “space-age” and other-worldly they don’t seem real. Their movement is powered purely from the energy of the sun – a wheeled creation that allures through it’s beauty and it’s brains. 2. Sophisticated: The top teams from around the world have one thing in common. They realize from the outset that a successful solar car program requires a true blend of disciplines. Take for example the University of Michigan solar car program. Their program (see video and original post), involves a core of about 40 students with input from a total of 100-200 students. It’s a truly interdisciplinary group with 50% engineering and 50% business, PR and support personnel. Solar cars are expensive, demanding the highest quality components, so the business side has to raise huge amounts of money to allow the engineers to implement their designs. Teamwork is paramount and these...

Read More........→March 30, 2013

Now, a solar-toilet to turn human waste into power

The researchers plan to collect the hydrogen in a fuel cell to power a light or possibly even a self-cleaning mechanism, New Scientist reported.(Reuters)  A scientist, who has been experimenting with solar-powered water treatment on a small scale, is now planning to incorporate the technology into a portable toilet. Michael Hoffmann at the California Institute of Technology found that sunlight powers an electrochemical reaction with human waste in water that generates microbe-killing oxidants and releases hydrogen gas. The researchers plan to collect the hydrogen in a fuel cell to power a light or possibly even a self-cleaning mechanism, New Scientist reported. Hoffmann received a grant this week from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to build a prototype. He says he can build one toilet for 2000 dollars and hopes to reduce the cost through design refinement and mass production.The grant is part of the Gates Foundation's latest global public health initiative to improve sanitation. Source: Indian Expres...

Read More........→March 30, 2013

Solar Car with Secret Weapon

. The solar-powered car's computer collects data from its telemetry system and makes adjustments in real time to improve performance. Built by the Cambridge University Eco Racing Team, this solar car was redesigned using a supercomputer and workstation computers donated by Intel. The more efficient design and new technology inside the car is given the CUER team....

Read More........→February 14, 2013

Flexible, Light Solar Cells Of Graphene Could Provide New Opportunities

Illustration courtesy of the research team MIT researchers develop a new approach using graphene sheets coated with nanowires. MIT researchers have produced a new kind of photovoltaic cell based on sheets of flexible graphene coated with a layer of nanowires. The approach could lead to low-cost, transparent and flexible solar cells that could be deployed on windows, roofs or other surfaces. The new approach is detailed in a report published in the journal Nano Letters, co-authored by MIT postdocs Hyesung Park and Sehoon Chang, associate professor of materials science and engineering Silvija Gradečak, and eight other MIT researchers. Illustration shows the layered structure of the new device, starting with a flexible layer of graphene, a one-atom-thick carbon material. A layer of polymer is bonded to that, and then a layer of zinc-oxide nano wires (shown in magenta), and finally a layer of a material that can extract energy from sunlight, such as quantum dots or a polymer-based material. While most of today’s solar cells are made of silicon, these remain expensive because the silicon is generally highly purified and then made into crystals that are sliced thin. Many researchers are exploring alternatives, such as nanostructured or hybrid solar cells; indium tin oxide (ITO) is used as a transparent electrode...

Read More........→December 29, 2012

Swiss solar boat finishes historic world tour

On Board The Planet Solar, Italy — Scanning the horizon on his solar-powered catamaran, Swiss electrical engineer Raphael Domjan counts down the hours to the completion of his record-breaking world tour. "The idea was not to perform a feat but an eco-adventure with the aim of passing on the message that change is possible," Domjan told AFP-TV as his boat furrowed through choppy waves from Italy's Elba Island to Corsica in France. Domjan began his journey from Monaco in September 2010 on the boat he built after seeing the effects of climate change on an Icelandic glacier, and he is due to complete it on May 4 when he returns to the Mediterranean port. "I realised climate change was real and I had to do something," he said. The 31-metre (102-foot) white Planetsolar, with 537 square metres of black solar panels mounted around a raised cockpit, cost 15 million euros to build, and the project only became possible after Domjan joined up with German businessman Immo Stroeher. Domjan, 40, and his crew, including a captain, a chief builder and a mechanic, are hoping that their exhausting but historic 600-day journey will herald a new era in eco-friendly travel, particularly in the tourism sector. After crossing the Atlantic and passing through the Panama Canal, they crossed the Pacific and returned to Europe...

Read More........→August 20, 2012

World On Alert For Massive Solar Storm

Power grids, communications and satellites could be knocked out by a massive solar storm in the next two years, scientists warn. Experts say the sun is reaching a peak in its 10-year activity cycle, putting the Earth at greater risk from solar storms. Mike Hapgood, a space weather specialist at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Didcot, Oxfordshire, said: "Governments are taking it very seriously. These things may be very rare but when they happen, the consequences can be catastrophic." He warned that solar storms are increasingly being put on national risk registers used for disaster planning, alongside other events like tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. There is 12% chance of a major solar storm every decade - making them a roughly one-in-100-year event. The last major storm was more than 150 years ago. The threat comes from magnetically-charged plasma thrown out by the sun in coronal mass ejections. Like vast bubbles bursting off the sun's surface, they send millions of tons of gas racing through space that can engulf the Earth with as little as one day's warning. They trigger geomagnetic storms which can literally melt expensive transformers in national power grids.  Source: The Coming Crisi...

Read More........→August 15, 2012

Telescope finds solar system that mirrors ours - and offers hope that life could thrive on its worlds

A solar system arranged just like our own has been discovered a thousand light years from the Earth. The group of planets line up in a way similar to those in our solar systems, with their orbital planes aligned with the equator of their Sun. Dr Roberto Sanchis-Ojeda and colleagues analysed their transits over spots on the Sun-like star Kepler-30 and found they mirrored those round our Sun. In our solar system the Sun’s equator and the planets’ orbital planes are nearly aligned, presumably a consequence of their formation from a single spinning gaseous disk. There are only three planets in the alien solar system, compared to the eight in ours, but it is the first time one with the same alignment as our own has been found. The observation described in Nature sheds light on the conditions that determine the architecture of a planetary system. Many such ‘exoplanets’ do not display this arrangement and isolated ‘hot Jupiters’ - giant planets that orbit too close to their parent stars to harbour life - are often misaligned, some even with opposite orbits. Source: The Coming Crisi...

Read More........→July 26, 2012

Solar-Powered Roads to Solve the Problem with Snow-Covered Highways

Places where people often witness an abundant amount of snow in winter face a serious problem linked with roads. Billions of dollars are spent each year to remove the snow and repair the roads damaged by the weather. In order to solve the problem, a researcher named Rajib Mallickproposed solar powered road systems. The systems would store the power of the sun to help clear streets and possibly provide an alternative source of electricity. Mallick's idea is to embed pavement with fluid-filled pipes. The fluid, which would be resistant to freezing, would be heated by the sun and stored in an insulated chamber. When ice and snow hit the roads, the heated fluid could be released to melt the snow. The heat from the fluid could also be used to provide electricity to nearby buildings. The project's cost is estimated at $12,500 for every 50 meters of pipe, plus annual maintenance costs of $1,000. But Mallick tells the system could pay for itself in six months while also providing enough electricity to heat 55 homes for one month a year. Source: Tech Guid...

Read More........→July 24, 2012

Solar Impulse fly to Morocco, to conquer a new continent

Image: Technicians and the Swiss driver Bernard Piccard preparing the Solar Impulse before his flight to Morocco, June 5, 2012 in Madrid (AFP Dominique Faget).  The Solar Impulse set sail Tuesday on Morocco after taking off at dawn in Madrid, for the first time to conquer a new continent. The plane, piloted by Bertrand Piccard Switzerland, co-founder of the project, flew smoothly, almost silently, the airport of Madrid-Barajas to 5:22 (3:22 ​​GMT). He headed to the south of Spain, flying, at sunrise, landscapes flooded with light. For an hour I had a full moon on my right and the sunrise on my left, it's absolutely magical. I had all the colors of the rainbow in the sky and also on land, told from the cockpit Bertrand Piccard, explorer, 54, reached by telephone by AFP. Solar Impulse is the first aircraft designed to fly day and night without fuel or polluting emissions, thanks to solar Image above: The Solar Impulse solar aircraft took off from Madrid, 201 June 5 (AFP Dominique Faget). energy. The carbon fiber aircraft is powered by four electric motors, a power of 10 horsepower each, powered by 12,000 photocells covering its huge wing. Energy is stored during the day in batteries, allowing the aircraft to fly at night. Solar Impulse has the wingspan of an Airbus A340 (63.4...

Read More........→June 06, 2012