Rooftops globally are millions of acres of under tapped surface area prime for solar conversion. The structures are, in most cases, connected to the grid's of their respective countries, so energy distribution is built in. Many large companies are making the installation a standard for their sunniest stores. A certain new partnership seeks to make long roofing panels with integrated solar elements an option to traditional materials.

One of the world's top 10 steel manufacturers Tata Steel Corporation has partnered with a leading supplier of 3rd generation solar technology, Dyesol, in creating the world's largest dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC)thin-film panel. The module measures over 3 meters in length and is 1 square meter in overall photovoltaic surface area. The innovative manufacturing process allows the Tata/Dyesol collaboration to print the solar cells directly to the steel. This allows for the manufacture of large volumes of cost effective cells to be made to exactly fit the shape of the structure. Tata Steel Operations Manager states that they have already "successfully produced hundreds of meters of printed steel and polymer film" used in the prototypes.

Dye-sensitized cell construction is printed in the following layers. The top layer, anode, is made of tin dioxide (SnO2:F) deposited on the back of glass. Below this is a layer of iodide electrolyte, sometime platinum, and is sealed with the next layer to prevent leaking. The next, and final, is a conducting layer of titanium dioxide (TiO2), dipped in a photosensitive dye, ruthenium-polypyridine.

The possibility for an electron to re-enter the dye after absorption is quite slow compared to the transfer from the platinum layer to the electrolyte. This differential is favorable allowing the cell to work in low light and cloudy day conditions. Even though DSSC panels have a 5%-12% efficiency rating the ability to charge for longer periods of time may make the cells more productive than their silicon counterparts (silicon cells rate at 12%-15%).

Tata/Dyesol finished the 3 year joint project in this June, 2011. 20 more people are needed for the team while they prepare for the pre-industrialization phase of the project. Like not recycling, the ease of the Tata/Dyesol panels make it almost a crime not to use rooftop solar collection. Great job Tata and Dyesol.

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Picture via Tata/Dysol

Sudden discoveries have lead to many different world changing technologies. For example, Penicillin came about through a cross contamination of two mold cultures in Dr. Alexander Flemings lab. X-rays were a surprise to researcher Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen for not putting a screen in front of a cathode ray tube he was studying. The list goes on and on.

The company SunCatalytix has made a discovery that has shown that the sun can be used to split water, and harvest the hydrogen. Researcher Daniel Nocera, from MIT, said that a jar of water could power a house. He also said that a swimming pool of water could meet the entire planet's electricity demand.

The idea works like photosynthesis. Sunlight gets absorbed and separates water. An artificial leaf made of Cobalt and Phosphate coated silicon is placed inside a jar of water, and the power output surpasses the best solar panel to date. It is discoveries like this that change the world. We will see more of this in the near future.

The Tata Group, a collection of companies that work to bring innovation to the world and the less fortunate, has partnered with SunCatalytix for an undisclosed amount. And they are receiving funding from other organizations to push the technology along.

See the SunCatalytix site for peer review links.

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A recent research project wants British soldiers to wear solar photovoltaic cells and a thermoelectric system to harness light or heat for 24/7 power. The goal is to lighten the packs soldiers carry by 50% and reduce the number of return trips to the base for recharging. An added benefit of the system is that after the various sources absorb all the energy across the electromagnetic spectrum, the soldiers will appear less obvious to infra-red surveillance equipment.

This project is a collaboration between the University of Glasgow and Strathclyde, Leeds, Reading, Loughborough, and Brunel Universities. Funding support is also coming from The Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Many different disciplines are at work on this project, including chemists, material science, process, electrical, and design engineers. As you can see, everyone is quite serious about this endeavor.

Solar PV will harness light in the day, and thermoelectric devices will take over the same task at night. "Advanced" storage schemes will be used to store excess energy while still providing continuous power. Side note; the thermal harvesters should run 100% of the time. Daytime heat and the active soldier will generate much more power than in the evening, but the team will discover this soon.

Professor Ducan Gregory of Glasgow said they are planning to have a prototype within 2 years. He hopes the technology will filter into other categories, like medical transportation, satellites, or other space applications.

Good luck, see you all in 2 years.

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Two years after the hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans, Louisiana, Brad Pitt toured the area and noticed most of the 4000 homes that were destroyed were not fixed, and the area abandoned. He promised the families he met there that he would "Make It Right." Like many, Pitt was let down by the lack of governmental help in the wake of the disaster. After meeting with local community groups and families Pitt established the "Make It Right Foundation," a non-profit organization set to build 150 green, affordable, high-quality homes that were closest to the levee breach, the lower 9th ward.

Bill Clinton and Brad Pitt at the ground breaking in 2008

Make It Right broke ground in 2008, and since then have completed 70 homes. 21 local, national, and international architects designed the new homes, and donated the plans to the project. The designs have many green attributes. The homes feature a 2.7 to 3.0 kilowatt solar PV system, low-VOC paints, carpets, and other finishes, and recycled materials are used throughout. Metal roofs are used to reduce heat gain, it is hot down there, and capture rain water. Some feature green roofs. All internal materials are certified by Forest Stewardship. The homes have tankless waterheaters, Energy Star Rated appliances and light fixtures. The windows and doors have "low-e" coatings, to help reduce heat flow into the home.

2 of the finished homes. They look amazing.

Other interesting features include kevlar reinforced windows, advanced framing and engineered wall sections, all to withstand up to 130mph hurricane winds. And all the homes are built 6 to 8 feet off the ground to help in case of another flood.

Brad Pitt and Microsoft's Bing have pledged, together, $10 million dollars in matching funds for the project. For more information and links to donate, go to the Make It Right webpage.

I just found out about this program, and I am definitely going to donate.

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Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Copt (NTT), Toyko Japan, combines photovoltaic and thermal harvesting in the same container with an added benefit of up to 50% increase of current output. Sanyo Semiconductor Co's silicon PV cells are housed in a water-tight, transparent, enclosure in a staggered stair like configuration. This setup can provide power normally. However NTT fills the container with water, the water then refracts and reflects the light in such a way that the PV cells current output increases up to 50%. The PV cells absorb the visible light, while the water inside absorbs the infrared. The water is then heated and can be pumped out to be used.

The water has a similar effect like the "FUSION" film I wrote about in another post, but seems to have a greater effect. The film is cheap, while the NTT water enclosure is not. So, for now the water option will remain in the research lab. My question is, how deep does the water have to be to provide that effect?

I hope to see more from NTT.

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At the Florida Power & Light Co., 190,000 mirrors are used to concentrate the suns energy to heat synthetic oil to ~750 degrees. The oil is then used to boil water, creating steam to turn turbines. The $400 million dollar plant can generate 75 megawatts on peak days. This powers 11,000 homes. The plant in Indiantown, Florida, is the world first to combine solar thermal energy harvesting to a combined-cycle natural gas power station. The construction came in $75 million dollars under budget. The plant is not as ideal as it may sound. The plant needs 500 acres of land. Solar based systems always take up more land that its competitors. Despite being in the hurricane ally of the Gulf of Mexico, FPL claims their plant was tested and can withstand up to 130mph winds.

The team at Florida Power & Light Co. wants to build an additional 300 - 500 megawatt solar installation. Vice president of FPL, Eric Silagy said, "We believe that solar is a great addition to the fleet at FPL. We are the Sunshine State. We have proven that it works very well." That is an additional 73,000 homes powered. Still far shy of the 4.5 million customers FPL had, but it is a major step in the right direction.

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HyperSolar, has made a breakthrough in magnification of light on their solar panels, resulting in an increase in solar energy output. They plan to take the 1 cm thick solar product and place then right on top of existing, and aging, flat solar panels. The purposed increase of light magnification, 400%, reduces the number of solar cells inside of a panel which in turn reduces the cost. Though, I would wager that people would want to put the HyperSolar panels next to existing one. Even the smaller amount of energy from the old equipment is a little bit more you could harvest.

Tim Young, CEO of hyper solar, touts the new product, "Unlike current concentrated photovoltaic solutions that require bulky mirrors or lenses and sun tracking mechanisms, the HyperSolar concentrator will be a thin and flat self-tracking solar concentrator that conventional solar manufacturers can use in conventional flat solar panels. A HyperSolar concentrator is a concentrator like no other with a multi-billion square feet opportunity. Every square foot of solar panel demand is an opportunity to reduce the number of expensive solar cells by incorporating a square foot of HyperSolar."

See more at their site.

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