Those who believe solar energy might be the chief source of energy in the future might wish that day would come more quickly because it does not pollute, lasts a long time, can be used almost anywhere, does not require much maintenance, and doesn’t rely on noisy, expensive turbines, like water and wind power do. Up to now, solar energy has been expensive and inefficient. Advancements in solar technology, such as Solar3D and integrated microinverters which can be used with solar panes may change that. 

Solar3D

Solar3D panels may make solar technology more efficient. Solar3D Incorporated has developed a 3D technology using solar cells which will maximize the ability to convert sunlight into electricity, according to a press release by the company. The company has also said the design for its Light Collector section, which is crucial to its novel solar cell, has been completed. 

The company’s use of solar cells was inspired by techniques using light management. Such a technology has been used in fibre optic devices in the past. Solar 3D Incorporated uses a 3D design to capture sunlight inside structures which are called micro-photovoltaic. In the structures photons travel until they are changed into electrons. The solar company believes its new technology will make solar energy far more reasonably economically. 

Jim Nelson, President and CEO of Solar 3D Incorporated says his company’s “innovative solar cell design” will use both the Micro-Photovoltaic section and the Light Collector section. Completing the Light Collector design was the “key” to the project. He said “minor modifications” will be made before a prototype is created. 

The company believes those working on the project will soon know how much more efficient 3-demensional solar cells can be.

“The Light Collector was the first giant step,” Nelson explained. He said it will soon be shown how much light will be able to travel through the absorbing structure. He added “we will soon know” how much more energy will be compared to current technology. He said his company will also know what the increase in efficiency will be “with our new cell relative to current technology.”

Those at Solar3d hope to have a functioning prototype by the end of 2012. 

Solar3D, Incorporated is working to maximize the ability to convert sunlight into electricity, because as much as 30% of sunlight that comes indirectly is only reflected away from current solar cells. In addition, more sunlight is inside the solar cells. The new technology should provide a lower price for electricity per watt for everyone. 

Integrated Micro inverters May Make Solar Energy More Accessible for the General Public

One new technology may make solar energy more accessible and appealing for home owners. The project involved creating a renewable energy power system. Dr. Praveen Jain, who is the Chair for Canada Research dealing with Power Electronics at Queen’s University, has been seeking to create an energy power system that is renewable. He is also the head of SPARQ Systems, a start-up company. Dr. Jain believes the integrated microinverters his company will make solar panels better to harvest energy. Solar panels may be able improve their ability to harvest energy by as much as 30%. 

In addition, the new technology may be more commercially than other solar technologies, for various reasons. For one thing, photovoltaic or PV panels will be able to connect directly to a power grid. This will be done by using the electronic micro inverters. As a result, the new technology will be both safe and easy to install. The only requirement to operate it is AC voltage, which typical homeowners are using anyway. The technology will work even in the snow or shade, which is another advantage. 

Dr. Jain says the new technology is a “much more attractive option” for the public. The added efficiency of the micro inverters in harvesting solar energy give people a “financial incentive” to buy the product. It will also lessen the necessity to use current technologies and will cut greenhouse gases, which will help “solve” one of the biggest problems in the world. 

CMC Microsystems worked with Dr. Jain and his team and helped in developing a digital controller that is FGPA-based. The company provided the necessary tools as well as prototype platforms needed to create the controller. The micro inverter is now able to instantly transmit power to the power grid from the PV panel. No longer will unreliable and unnecessarily big electrolytic capacitors need to be used. For the first time ever, a company will be able to deploy integrated modules of the AC photovoltaic. 

Industries in Ontario and the Ontario Research Fund have given more than $16 million to create green technologies because of Dr. Jain’s leadership. The money went to the Queen’s Centre for Energy and Power Electronics Research. 

Dr. Jain said he is “very excited” that his work will help in solving a huge “environmental problem.” He believes that within the next forty years, or less, one-third of the energy used might come from solar energy. He called reaching that amount a “huge goal.” He said such a goal will be reached, however, because politicians are pushing for it. 

It is expected that consumers will be able to access the new technology by the end of 2012. 

Solar Energy Has Been Used in the Past

Using solar energy to help solve the problems other types of energy might cause to the environment or because it may be more plentiful than other types of energy may actually not be new. Solar energy has been used in the past. 

Ancient societies used solar energy to heat water and to cool and heat their residences. In the 19th century solar-based mechanical engines were created. Some studied solar radiation in the Renaissance. 

While many believe solar technology may help meet society’s energy needs in the coming decades, new advances may bring that to pass more quickly with these renewable energy systems.

The court ruled  at the end of January that cutting the tariffs before the consultation period was illegal which meant that people could get the higher tariff until March 3rd 2012.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jan/25/solar-subsidies-government-loses-court-appeal

We are telling our customers that if they install before 3rd March there is a good chance that they will get the higher tariff but this is no guarantee. We are therefore telling them what the payback would be if they had the proposed 21p/kWh instead of 43.3p/kWh.

Falling equipment prices across the world have meant that with 21p/kWh you can still get a good return on your investment with a lower tariff.

We will keep you posted when we hear any new information

This means that you would get the 43.3p/kWh for solar PV installation under 4kW instead of the proposed cut to 21p/kWh up to the 3rd March this year.

This is great news for people who were thinking to install solar panels but have been by off the reduction of tariff levels.

We at Integr8 understand that the levels needed to be reduced, but not so drastically or so quickly. Should this tariff rate be extended it will give companies more of a chance to plan for changes in the tariffs instead of them being cut without any time to react.

The solar industry was really lifting off in the UK, with thousands of jobs being created in a green industry. The cuts that were proposed last December were putting thousands of jobs and solar businesses at risk. Integr8 is well placed in the market as we offer other technologies such as heat pumps, solar thermal and wind turbines, but for companies that solely install solar panels this has been a very difficult few months.

We will wait and see what the ruling is, and whether the tariff will be extended….

The government is going to reduce the generation tariffs for solar PV.

This is the start of the review of the entire Feed-In Tariffs mechanism to take effect from 12th December 2011 / 1st April 2012

PV Tariff reductions

The major effect is drastic reductions to the tariffs for PV as follows:

These new tariffs will effectively apply to all installations registered from 12th December 2011.

The government will allow systems installed between 12th December and 31st March to get the old tariff level until 1st April 2012.

http://www.fitariffs.co.uk/FITs/regulation/review1_comprehensive/

Topics included turbine siting, planning, technical specifications of the turbines and the impact of the feed in tariff.

When turbines are properly sited (and with the current savings available from the feed in tariff) customers can expect and estimated payback of approximately 5 years with the Evoco 10.

Please feel fee to browse all that you see and get in touch if you would like to know how we can help you save money on energy bills as well as make money from you installation.

If you compare that to the 28 solar thermal collectors and 10 wind turbines that are MCS you can really see how the market has become very competitive. If you take a look at what we can offer you can see we have broken it down into 5 brands – ET Solar, Sharp, Bisol, Antaris and Sanyo.

So what is your main consideration when deciding on a solar panel brand?? Is it price? If so we can offer very competitive prices from ET Solar and Bisol. Is it having a long product/output warranty? If so then we would recommend considering Antaris – a high quality German brand with an industry leading 12 year product warranty. Is brand awareness important to you? You may not have heard of Antaris or ET Solar but you may well have heard of Sharp – they may even have made your TV!

Sharp are one of the leading names in solar PV globally thanks to their brand awareness and high level marketing strategy. We offer Sharp panels as part of our solar range as a result. If you are considering high-end solar PV that will give you one of the best performing systems on the market, then we can recommend Sanyo HIT solar panels. 18% efficiency from the 250W panels is an excellent feature of these panels and are some of the best currently on the market.