SolarEnergy.net

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Solar Energy network

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Over 400,000 residents of the Philippines will benefit from a deal signed today between BP and the Spanish and Philippine governments to bring solar power to 150 isolated villages in the Philippines. Led by the Philippines’ Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), the $48 million contract – the largest solar energy project ever – is financed by the Spanish government and will be implemented in two phases, the first scheduled to begin in September.

In the face of deregulation and stringent environmental regulations, many utilities are looking for ways to gain customer loyalty and reduce pollution. In Jacksonville, Florida, JEA has set a 7.5% clean power capacity goal for 2015, positioning itself to become one of the leading clean power utilities in the United States. This 7.5% capacity goal roughly equals 250 megawatts (MW). Renewable energy sourcesalone will supply at least 80% of this with a combination of photovoltaics (PV), solar water heating, solar thermal electric, biomass, biogas and low impact hydro. Clean technologies and practices - like demand-side management and efficiency programs, pollution control technologies, improvements to power generation efficiencies and switching from coal to natural gas - make-up the remaining 50 equivalent clean MW’s. In addition, JEA agreed to advocate policies and legislation at the local, state and national level that promote clean power, and encourage R & D alliances, partnerships and local clean power technology component manufacturing.

Timothy Fisher is taking a Tiffany's approach to converting sunlight into electricity: with a $348,000 grant from National Reconnaissance Office, the assistant professor of mechanical engineering is exploring the use of polycrystalline diamond as a replacement for the silicon solar cells currently used in many space applications. The solar wings of the international space station are the largest power-generating solar arrays ever flown in orbit. Photo: NASA "Diamond has a number of potential advantages for use in outer space," says Fisher, who will be working on the project with Weng Poo Kang, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science. Fisher maintains that diamond films: Can withstand the high levels of radiation typical of the space environment. By contrast, the performance of silicon cells degrades by about 50 percent after 10 years in orbit. Can operate at high temperatures. As a result, they can be used with low-weight inflatable solar collectors resulting in an energy system that produces more electricity per pound, a critical factor in space applications. Have a potential conversion efficiency of 50 percent as compared to 10 to 15 percent for silicon solar cells.

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