Solar panels jobs energy efficiency

According UNEF, its implementation would also eliminate much of the electrical system losses, which carry an annual cost of 2,000 million euros

With appropriate legislation, families, communities and neighboring Spanish municipalities could save this year from future rises in the final price of electricity. The investment required for this would be € 3,500 per family.


The photovoltaic industry believes that the "net balance consumption by" going to be a citizen and municipal revolution. There are two major forms of consumption, the individual and shared, and with encouragement from the Government both can be an immediate reality in neighboring communities and the Spanish councils, as has been stated in a press conference Hortigüela Dew and Antonio Navarro, Co-Chairs of the Spanish Photovoltaic, UNEF, the federation of the four national industry associations.


In his view, the photovoltaic solar panels are able to carry the generation of electricity to each house, and ability to generate and consume their own electricity at home or nearby, eventually to amend the Spanish electricity system.





Besides the savings, consumption would strengthen the role of renewable energies in Spain, the country's commitment to the European Union by 2020. At the same time, thanks to occur in the vicinity (distributed generation) Solar home consumption also increase energy efficiency, a key issue because 10% of the total electrical energy is lost during transport and energy distribution at a cost rate of about 2,000 million euros for the system.


Similarly, the self-produce part of its electricity, it is easier to raise consumer awareness of electricity cost and energy savings assume a daily objective. And, simultaneously, the development of individual and shared solar will be a factor in creating long-time stable employment and local levels.



Indigenous clean energy, industry, employment and savings


UNEF has defended the net balance as consumption by formula to revive the industry, building on indigenous energy sources, create jobs and ensure that citizens can save an increasing percentage of their electricity bills. Jorge Morales de Labra, a member of its Board of Directors, presented the progress of a study on the feasibility of facilities and possible models to promote and accelerate the implementation of the consumption in Spain.


The proposed option is called "consumption by net balance." In practice it means that consumers generate photovoltaic electricity, self consumed one hand, pour the surplus generated by them to the network, and part of that energy equivalent to dunk over a year can deselection of conventional electricity consumption in the same time.


Labra Morales emphasizes that the technology allows two types of facilities for consumption by net balance. The family (individual net balance), and neighborhood and municipal (shared net balance). So far in future drafts of the regulation, currently pending, only planned the first, although their level of development will not fully profitable for another two to four years, unless properly regulated.


The regulatory proposal posed UNEF exempt toll passes, free tax incentives sizes and facilities net balance individual, to get shortening deadlines and viable as possible. Further recommends authorizing UNEF now shared facilities. A cost of electricity supply in 2012, shared facilities and consumption would provide annual savings of up to 3% this year, a percentage that would increase significantly in coming years, as it would save on future increases in the Light.

Accelerating Future


The UNEF expert warned that the popularization of this technology, the first truly participatory in the history of the electricity sector may slow down or encouraged in many ways. To encourage it, considers the instantaneous consumption should be exempt from tolls, and part to the grid should have a treatment "reasonably favorable" compared to conventional tolls, being very close to places of consumption and use the power grid a residual.


Furthermore, the condition of consumption would be guaranteed because only settles the equivalent energy actually consumed in the network, thus avoiding situations where it looks to export to the network. Not carried out adequate regulation, UNEF considered that the popularization of consumption will not occur for another four years, depending on irradiation.

Demand for solar panels falls dramatically in Europe

In 2010 were the solar panels manufacturers in Europe did not meet the demand. Consequently, the subsidies for solar panels of new companies in many countries also withdrawn. So there is more supply, but much less demand. The condition has led many companies are on the verge of bankruptcy.

The market for solar panels especially in Europe, given the very hard time in Germany and Italy as the two largest markets in the world. Those two countries had first large subsidies for those solar panels erected. However, these are eliminated which reduces demand, and that combined with a greater supply ensures a massive oversupply.

For those interested in solar panels all have a bright side. This year, the price of solar panels down over 35 percent. This brings the price of this type of green energy is already close to the energy generated from fossil fuels. It has also ensured that the United States is investing heavily in the 'cheap' solar panels.

General Electric has just been announced that the company's largest solar park in the U.S. will be build. The new park in the state of Colorado will have an annual capacity of 400 megawatts, good for about 80,000 homes with electricity. The total electricity provided by solar panels this year to reach 1.5 gigawatts.

Photovoltaics as an economic engine

The model used to "rescue" of Greece sounds. It is so simple because of the land of the Hellenes seem very often get the sun. So why not build more solar panels? With the help of nature, the debt could be pressed.

The Greeks can enjoy over 300 sunny days a year. And they also have enough space. Companies like Conergy use it. The German company from Hamburg is pulling up 200 kilometers west of Thessaloniki, a solar power plant. And the Greek Minister of Energy and Environment, Giorgos Papakonstantinou, wants to build in former lignite fields in northern Greece huge solar power systems.

Papakonstantinou recently presented "Helios" project. It is planned to increase annual production to the Greek in 2020 to 2.2 gigawatts and to ten gigawatts by 2050. Under the plan, Greece wants to sell its electricity profitably abroad.

Nevertheless, Greece has produced only 150 megawatts in 2010, almost 50 times less solar power than Germany. 2011 there are at least 300 megawatts. Could be up to the sun's energy into an export success, even it is still a long way. Critics complain that the electricity would be more expensive due to transportation will pass through the cost advantage is lost. And who should pay the billion-dollar expansion of the outdated power grid?

Solar thermal energy in a downturn

Solar panels already seemed firmly on German roofs have to be booked. As oil prices climbed in 2008 to over 140 dollars a barrel, the newly installed solar thermal capacity doubled to 1,400 megawatts. But with the boom it's over.n

The German solar thermal producers managed to double its 2008 sales to 2 billion €. Within months, the number of employees rose by 10,000 to 25,000. However, the conversion decreases with renewable heat continuously since fall 2008. While booming new oil and gas boilers in Germany, fell loudly Heating Association BDH dropped the demand for heat pumps from 2008 to 2010 by 20 percent, sales of wood boilers and solar thermal systems in the same period, even cut in half. Not a turnaround is in sight: in the first half of 2011 fell to assemble the solar panels compared to the same period by a further 2 percent.

Guilt is - next to the drop in oil prices now back - in the opinion of a failed industry promotion policy. "In truth, the federal government has no interest in solar thermal, because everything in Berlin revolves only around the Renewable Energy Act," said Werner Koldehoff, Board Member of the Federal Solar Industry Association (BSW). This manifests itself in the solar thermal industry fatal decisions: instead of helping her with additional buying incentives from the crisis, was to promote even lowered. Only 1.7 billion euros in 2010, the Federal Government through its Market Incentive Program and the CO2 emissions from buildings are available, this year there are only 1.2 billion euros. That's not half as much as in 2009 and six times less than the € 7 billion, in 2011 - will be invested in photovoltaics - by levy on the electricity bill. It could be in the heating sector save the most CO2: Half of the total final energy demand (the part of primary energy that arrives after deducting transport and transformation losses to the consumer) is in this country used to generate heat, but only a quarter of electricity.

Printing solar cells for solar panels as printing photos

Solar cell printing technology was developed by scientists at Oregon State University, USA. They tried to cut costs to make solar panels using the technology used in inkjet printers to print solar cells.

The material used is often referred to as CIGS, which is a combination of materials such as copper, indium, gallium and selenium also called chalcopyrite. Types of materials are known to better efficiency than silicon to make solar panels today.

The technology is claimed to reach 5 percent efficiency of solar panel by print chalcopyrite solar cells on the surface. But researchers have to increase again the value of this efficiency by 12 percent to be commercialized. The technology can be cheaper because no material is wasted due to evaporation process in the step of making solar cells for solar panels.

Highest solar panel efficiency achieved by Alta Devices

Technology to achieve the highest solar panel efficiency in converting solar energy into electrical energy continues to grow, so it is expected to compete with fossil energy use that will diminishing supply as well as environmental unfriendly.

Recently, new efficiency record for solar panels has reached 27.6 percent achieved by Alta Devices. They use gallium arsenide solar panels that capable of catching up to 28.2 percent of sunlight that managed to achieve higher efficiency than the previous record of 26.4 percent, according to data from NREL.

To achieve the record efficiency, the company developed wafer-style solar panels are considered to have higher efficiency opportunities during bright sun and directly on solar panel. As one of the solar panel manufacturer, Alta Devices prefer to use wafer-style solar panels compared to thin-film solar cells which developed by other companies. But it also depends on the environmental conditions to install the solar panel itself. That's because the thin-film solar panels more efficient in areas that are not so abundant sunlight or when the sun is not in the position of 90 degree angle.