I was waiting for this one. Solar panels as a Religious freedom!
Are Solar Panels Objects Of Religious Freedom?
One Massachusetts church says the clean energy tech will contribute to the stewardship of its natural environment
By Leslie Horn Jul 14, 2016 at 5:12 PM ET
http://www.vocativ.com/340452/are-solar-panels-objects-of-religious-freedom/
The First Parish church in Bedford, Massachusetts has been a staple of the community since it was established in 1730. But there is a controversy unfolding, now that the town’s Historic District Commission has denied the centuries-old church’s request to install solar panels.

First Parish takes its environmental responsibility very, very seriously. Dan Bostwick, the head of the church’s solar energy committee, told the Globe that it was a religious act.

“Stewardship of our natural environment is central to our faith,” he said. “Unitarian Universalists, along with people of many faiths all over the world, are compelled by religious beliefs to take action to mitigate the effects of climate change. By installing solar panels to reduce carbon footprint, we are acting on our core spiritual beliefs.”

But the Historic Commission is not so sure, arguing that the panels would be “highly visible and incongruous to the historic aspect of the church and its architectural characteristics.” Bostwick says the church is going to “great lengths” to respect the historic character of the building, which was built in 1817, and says the panels would not obstruct the view of the church’s facade.

The panels would end up generating 75 percent of the church’s power, allowing it to get rid of four gas-guzzling HVAC units in the building. The church has support of other local congregations and says it plans to exercise its “full legal rights” in order to move forward with the solar panels, which Bostwick calls “an essential expression of our faith.” If nothing else, this is a wonderful, environmentally-conscious invocation of religious protection laws.

We would not have gotten this deal if we were the SLTD of 2 years ago.....

Our numbers are approaching VSLR numbers yet our market cap is not even close...

BioSolar Recognized for Its Efforts to Increase Capacity and Reduce Cost of Lithium-Ion Batteries
Recent Media Coverage Highlights Company's Focus on Technological Innovation Within Battery Manufacturing Sector

http://www.einnews.com/pr_news/334843956/biosolar-recognized-for-its-efforts-to-increase-capacity-and-reduce-cost-of-lithium-ion-batteries
/EINPresswire.com/ -- SANTA CLARITA, CA--(Marketwired - July 12, 2016) - BioSolar, Inc. (OTCQB: BSRC), a developer of breakthrough energy storage technology and materials, today shared recent media articles detailing the Company's approach to increasing capacity and reducing costs of lithium ion batteries, the predominant storage devices used by electric vehicles, personal electronics, and many other commercial and consumer applications.

In a recent contributed byline entitled "Improving Lithium Ion Battery for Future Energy Storage Needs" for Battery Power Magazine, a leading print and online battery publication, BioSolar CEO Dr. David Lee cites challenges often associated with the chemistry currently embedded with existing lithium-ion batteries, as well as cost, for lack of advancements within the sector. Dr. Lee states that BioSolar seeks to reduce the cost of manufacturing and extend the lifetime of lithium-ion batteries, enabling mass adoption for electric vehicles as well as improvements in battery capabilities for personal electronics needs.

Dr. Lee was also interviewed in a Q&A with AltEnergy Magazine, where he expounded on the Company's recent announcements and other related developments that could impact capacity potential for anodes and cathodes, the two key components for the efficiency of lithium-ion battery technology.

"We believe that our ambitions to develop battery technology that enables lower cost and with longer life span, will meet the growing market demand for lithium-ion battery storage technology," said Dr. Lee. "These efforts, as highlighted by multiple battery and sustainability media publications, are a direct reflection of the strong leadership and intellectual property that we have continued to develop since entering this industry."

BioSolar believes its efforts fall in line with the current energy storage and battery technology landscape. A recent Cleantechnica article focuses on the importance of a decreased market cost for batteries is essential to the continued growth of the renewable energy set to total 45.1 GW in the next decade. The authors note that "system costs are still one of the biggest barriers to the industry's growth," yet nevertheless, it is expected that declining prices will open up "new use cases and geographic markets."

About BioSolar, Inc.

BioSolar is developing a breakthrough technology to double the storage capacity, lower the cost and extend the life of lithium-ion batteries. A battery contains two major parts, a cathode and an anode, that function together as the positive and negative sides. Today's state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery is limited by the storage capacity of its cathode, while the anode can store much more. Inspired by nature, we are developing a novel cathode based on inexpensive conductive polymers and organic materials that can fully utilize the storage capacity of conventional anodes. By integrating our high capacity, high power and low-cost cathode with conventional anodes, battery manufacturers can create a super lithium-ion battery that can double the range of a Tesla, power an iPhone for 2 days straight, or store daytime solar energy for nighttime use. Founded with the vision of developing breakthrough energy technologies, BioSolar's previous successes include the world's first UL approved bio-based back sheet for use in solar panels.

To learn more about BioSolar, please visit our website at http://www.biosolar.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "may," "intend," "expect" and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations of the Company and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with: the impact of economic, competitive and other factors affecting the Company and its operations, markets, product, and distributor performance, the impact on the national and local economies resulting from terrorist actions, and U.S. actions subsequently; and other factors detailed in reports filed by the Company.

Improving Lithium Ion Battery for Future Energy Storage Needs
Jun 29, 2016 11:22 AM | by Editorial Staff
David Lee, CEO, BioSolar
http://www.batterypoweronline.com/main/articles/improving-lithium-ion-battery-for-future-energy-storage-needs/
Different electrical energy storage applications require a different set of energy storage solutions based on their own unique specifications. Therefore, different electric energy storage applications possess different order of priorities for storage device features often associated with specific types of electrical energy storage technology.

Lithium-ion batteries are becoming a mainstream battery choice for consumer and automotive applications, as well as solutions for large scale energy storage due to their advantages over other existing battery chemistries. Unfortunately, there are certain challenges often associated with the intercalation chemistry currently embedded with existing lithium-ion batteries. One of the biggest challenges is the projection of only modest future cost reduction. In order for electrical energy storage to become a realistic replacement for conventional energy storage, i.e., coal, oil, natural gas and other hydrocarbons – choose your poison, drastic reduction of the cost of storing electrical energy has to occur.

While there are known strategies to improve lithium ion battery technology to reduce costs at the material, electrode, cell, and manufacturing levels, most improvement in battery performance to date has come about due to improved chemistry rather than from ongoing improvement within an existing chemistry. This implies slower than desired cost reduction associated with the conventional intercalation chemistry currently in use by lithium-ion batteries to date, which has only experienced incremental cost reduction.

Today’s Electrical Energy Storage Need
As stated earlier, different electrical energy storage applications prioritize on different battery features and characteristics. For example, electric vehicles for consumer use require high capacity batteries to lengthen the travel range between recharging stops. On the other hand, electric buses with regular stops equipped with charging outlets require faster charging electrical energy storage for frequent charging at its designated stops during service hours.

Keeping this in mind, batteries are generally suitable for applications that require high energy storage but not necessarily require rapid charging and discharging. Therefore, use of batteries in electric vehicles are ideal but not necessarily for other types of electrical energy storage devices. Supercapacitors are generally better suited for applications that require rapid charging and discharging rather than high energy storage for prolonged operation. Thus, a supercapacitor is a better option for hybrid electric backhoes and front end loaders that require intermittent bursts of power to handle occasional heavy lifting.

Further, a combination of lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors may be suitable for hybrid electric vehicles. Supercapacitors can handle the high frequency nature of charging and discharging, whereas the high energy storage capacity of batteries provides longer range so that the entire electrical storage system is more cost efficient as well as reliable. Certain consumer electronic devices prioritize long life cycles over high capacity, while others may emphasize lower cost. Medical implant devices or wearable technology devices may emphasize the smallest footprint possible, and thinnest form factor with high density energy storage for the lifetime of product use.

Specific markets also call for a different order of priorities. The Electric and Hybrid Vehicles market may require higher capacity, faster charging ability, lower cost, and a long cycle life. Consumer Electronic markets generally call for higher capacity and the lowest cost possible to the consumer. Grid storage for frequency regulations, however, require long life cycle and fast charging/discharging characteristics, while large scale grid storage seeks lower cost, but not necessary high energy density. Long cycle life is usually not a concern for flow batteries due to its ability to replace active components as many time as required during the life of the product.

Due to its many desirable characteristics sought by a wide range of markets and device applications, lithium-ion batteries are becoming a mainstream battery choice for all applications including consumer, automotive, and large scale energy storage. According to a recent study published by Allied Market Research entitled, “World Lithium-Ion Battery Market: Opportunities and Forecasts, 2015-2022,” the global lithium-ion battery market is expected to generate revenue of $46.21 billion by 2022, with a CAGR of 10.8 percent during the forecast period (2016-2022). Currently, the market is very concentrated, as over 70 percent of installed energy storage capacity uses lithium-ion batteries, as the technology is proven and bankable.

Lithium-ion Batteries
The advantages of lithium-ion batteries are, among others:

High density storage that possess a smaller footprint allowing manufacturers more design freedom and/or longer range capabilities for vehicles without increasing the size and weight of their vehicles.
The flexibility to not have to be fully discharged before recharging, without losing capacity. This ‘memoryless’ nature of lithium-ion batteries makes it more suitable for use in hybrid vehicles that requires constant charges and discharges of its batteries in stop and go traffic.
A low self-discharge property allowing vehicles to be parked for longer periods of time without losing its stored electrical energy. Who wants to return to a dead car battery after a long vacation?

The challenges of lithium-ion batteries are:

The energy capacity of a lithium-ion battery slowly diminishes over time, even when they are not in use. It is also generally known that existing lithium-ion batteries based on intercalation chemistry will lose approximately 20% of their storage capacity after 1,000 charge-discharge cycles. Therefore, lithium-ion batteries installed in electric vehicles at this point of time may have to be replaced every four to six years, resulting in cost to the consumer.
High costs are also yet another challenge for manufacturers. Currently, the cost of storing electrical energy using lithium-ion batteries is above $500/kWh. According to an article in February 2016 issue of Renewable World Magazine, recent data suggests that this cost is expected to decrease by 50 percent to $230/kWh in the next five to seven years. Unfortunately, even then, electric vehicles will gain a competitive edge in relation to conventional vehicles only when the cost reaches at or below $100/kWh.
A substantial portion of the cost of manufacturing a lithium-ion battery is in the manufacturing of its cathode. Currently, cathodes and anodes are formed onto metal substrate by spraying electrode material in a slurry form which requires continued mixing for even distribution. To achieve the desired cathode thickness, materials are sprayed and then dried to a specific temperature and viscosity before heavy calendaring. Furthermore, to avoid cracking, a winding of the electrode sheet has to occur before the cathode is completely dry. Therefore, one effective way to reduce the cost of lithium-ion battery is to reduce the cost of cathode materials and manufacturing.
How Today’s Lithium-ion Batteries are Made
In general, the negative electrode of a conventional lithium-ion cell is made from carbon. The positive electrode is a metal oxide, and the electrolyte is a lithium salt in an organic solvent. Cells of lithium ion batteries can generally be classified into four groups according to its shapes: small cylindrical (solid body without terminals, such as for laptop batteries); large cylindrical (solid body with large threaded terminals); pouch (soft, flat body, such as those used in cell phones); and prismatic (semi-hard plastic case with large threaded terminals, for vehicle traction packs).

Typical manufacturing process for laptops and electric vehicle batteries entail mixing materials to form cathodes and anodes (into a slurry form); coating of the electrode material on the collector foil; drying followed by calendaring (pressed to evenly distribute the coating material); and cutting electrode sheets into final assembly to be fitted into cylindrical casing and hermetically sealed.

Manufacturing process for cylindrical cells requires the electrolytes be formed from pastes of active material powders, binders, solvents, and additives to be fed to coating machines and spread on current collector foils, such as aluminum for the cathode side and copper for the anode side. Next, there is a subsequent calendaring for homogeneous thickness and particle size, followed by slitting to the correct width. These components are then stacked to separator-anode–separator-cathode stacks, followed by winding to cylindrical cells, insertion in cylindrical cases, and welding of a conducting tab. These cells are then filled with electrolytes.

The electrolyte has to wet the separator, soak in, then wet the electrodes. The wetting and soaking process is the slowest step and therefore is the determining factor in the speed of the line. All other needed insulators, seals, and safety devices are then attached and connected before the cells are charged and tested for the first time. It is quite common for cells to be vented during the first charge.

First charging cycles follow sophisticated protocols to enhance the performance, cycling behavior, and service life of the cells, as they have a direct impact on long-term efficiency. Recently, efforts have been made in combined and hybrid processing, such as direct deposition of separators onto electrodes and rapid heat treatments.

Unfortunately, the use of slurry to manufacture cathodes has many disadvantages. One, there is no solubility, as a slurry is just another name for a suspension. There is also no guarantee of material homogeneity with slurries. When the solvent is removed from the slurry, the resulting film is very rough and instead of coalescing, analogous pieces stick together like ‘Rice Crispy Treats.’ This issue is currently being addressed by calendaring, but the surface cannot be made as smooth as it possibly could be, enabling micro voids to be created between the particles. Furthermore, commercial calendars are very expensive and difficult to maintain, and ultimately the winding of the ‘Swiss Roll’ needs to occur before complete drying to avoid cracking.

As you may deduce, there is potential improvement within the manufacturing of electrodes that can translate into substantial manufacturing cost reduction. This is only realizable if the electrode material currently in a slurry form can be replaced by electrode material that can be made into homogeneous film possessing a very controlled thickness and width. This will allow the coating process to be relatively simple, inexpensive, and environmentally clean, using water as the solvent. The resulting film (an electrode sheet) then can be immediately laminated onto another film (layers of electrode sheets), and most remarkably, the winding of the resulting electrode film can be done at any time without any risk of cracking.
Cost/KWh of Energy Storage using Lithium-Ion Batteries
Moore’s Law is the observation that, over the history of computing hardware, the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit has doubled approximately every two years. After 50 years, Moore’s Law solidified itself as the golden rule for the electronics industry and has economic, technological, and societal impact.

However, Moore’s Law does not apply to batteries. The exponential increase of computer power over a long period of time is due to advances in lithography and technology, and has no fundamental meaning, nor should an exponential increase to be expected in any other area of technology. In fact, ongoing improvements in processors will slow and eventually stop as feature sizes approach atomic dimensions, if heat dissipation does not stop improvement before then.

The scale of economy based on conventional intercalation chemistry tends to result in only incremental cost reduction, and there exists no evidence to support the specific energy of batteries increasing in any regular fashion. Indeed, most improvement in battery performance has come about from changing chemistry rather than from ongoing improvement within a given chemistry.

In general, there are three ways to improve lithium-ion batteries to reduce cost. At the material level, these batteries require materials that support high power and a wide State of Charge (SOC) range, minimal impedance growth, and calendar aging. At the cell level, there are needs for new chemistry and electrode designs permitting shorter and thicker electrodes. In general but with exception, chemistries and designs that enable lower overall electrode area per battery and minimize battery size, will ultimately reduce cost. At the manufacturing level – identification and adoption of advanced processing technologies are needed to increase coater speed and/or other unit operations significantly.

The Need to Reduce the Cost of Lithium Ion Batteries
BioSolar 3The high costs of batteries represent a significant challenge and barrier to mass adoption for automotive manufacturers that produce electric vehicles. As stated earlier, the current cost of storing electrical energy using lithium-ion batteries is above $500/kWh.

To reduce costs below $100/kWh, we must explore an alternate lithium-ion battery chemistry, along with the use of new materials and low cost manufacturing methods that can work well within this new chemistry and its processes. As noted earlier, a substantial portion of the cost of manufacturing a lithium-ion battery is in the manufacturing and production of its cathode. Thus, the cost of cathode materials and manufacturing must be reduced in order to effectively lower the cost of manufacturing lithium-ion batteries.

Additionally, the life cycle of a lithium-ion battery needs to be extended. Currently, owners of electric vehicles have to purchase several replacement battery packs multiple times throughout the lifetime of their vehicle ownership. Thus, electric vehicles would make more economic sense if the battery’s life cycle paralleled the vehicle ownership. Again, potential breakthrough solutions that drastically improve life cycles will most likely require exploring a new lithium-ion battery chemistry rather than continuing to focus on just improving conventional intercalation chemistry that promises only incremental improvements over existing solutions.
A Solution to Drastically Lower the Cost of Lithium Ion Batteries
BioSolar’s current research program focuses on improving the capacity and lowering the cost of storing electrical energy with lithium-ion batteries. In addition to developing technologies to commercialize in the near term, the company’s long-term product development objective is to completely abandon the traditional intercalation chemistry in favor of a new redox chemistry with the use of low-cost conducting polymer based electrode materials.

The company’s proprietary cathode material under consideration uses a combination of commercially available polymers and other raw materials to make up the redox-supporting cathode structure. This polymer blend can then be coated over a metal substrate using a simple proprietary coating process. This process can be substantially more cost-effective in comparison to the existing method that currently utilizes expensive and energy-intensive slurrying and calendaring for existing cathodes in lithium-ion batteries.

Laboratory testing of the company’s novel prototype cathode material have yielded a set of critical data that translates into targeted lithium-ion battery performance projections. Much more work needs to be done before the company can fully commercialize its cathode technology, but the laboratory data suggests that the use of this cathode material in lithium-ion batteries can result in a 50 percent increase in energy storage capacity, reduce the energy storage cost to below $100/kWh, and extend the lifetime of a lithium-ion battery.

Improving the chemistry of existing lithium-ion batteries may continue to provide a temporary positive return on investment for battery manufacturers; nevertheless, exploring new chemistries holds the key to drastic cost reduction. Doing so will lower the cost of manufacturing and extend the lifetime of lithium-ion batteries, enabling mass adoption for electric vehicles as well as improvements in battery capabilities for personal electronics needs.

Solar Already Beating Gas On Price, & More — Why Natural Gas Is The Next Fossil Fuel To Go
July 12th, 2016 by Susan Kraemer
http://cleantechnica.com/2016/07/12/solar-already-beating-gas-price-natural-gas-next-fossil-fuel-go/
Secrecy about the price that California utilities pay for natural gas contracts is a new sign that PV has now passed market price parity at wholesale (as well as at retail: for rooftop customers).
The utility-scale solar industry used to have to compete against a “Market Price Referent” (MPR: the cost of an average natural gas contract). The idea was that, if a solar PPA could be priced at the same or less than a typical natural gas PPA, then it was considered competitive. Utilities in California are required by regulators to choose the cheapest option in contracting for electricity.

The MPR back then, in California, was 9 cents a kWh. Beating that price with 2009-era solar was a struggle, but prices dropped so fast as more solar was deployed that, if the MPR were still being used, it would appear that solar would simply beat gas on price.

Now that solar PPAs are being signed at less than half that old MPR, all of a sudden it is quite difficult to find any MPR or any gas PPAs to compare prices. MPR figures are no longer used in comparing solar to natural gas.

In the US, First Solar, SunPower, and several other key utility-scale players have been building utility-scale solar in the 3 cent range since 2015. Even smaller municipal utilities have been able to procure solar at 3 cents a kilowatt-hour (for example, the city utilities of Austin and Palo Alto).

To be fair, comparing solar PPAs to natural gas PPAs is comparing apples to oranges.

When a utility signs a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for a renewable source like solar that has no fuel cost, the utility simply pays a pre-agreed rate per kilowatt-hour for the next 25 years.

The way that gas contracts are paid is completely different.

Mike Jacobs, who leads regulatory reform of electricity markets as senior energy analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, had a good analogy. He likened payment of a natural gas contract to the way you rent a car, where you pay one daily rate to have the car available to you, but on top of that, you also buy gas to run the car every day.

“The same way as cars are rented, in fossil fuel contracts, there is the set daily rate for the machine, and on top of that there is an unknown variable: the price of natural gas over the 20 year contract,” Jacobs told CleanTechnica. “Because of the unpredictable aspect of natural gas prices, that fuel cost is usually reimbursed after the fact by ratepayers.”

This after-the-fact reimbursement by ratepayers of the final actually-paid natural gas prices is a very murky area of natural gas contracts. Essentially, the utilities ask regulators for reimbursement by ratepayers, but as a part of a bundle that is part of a much larger reimbursement package. Insiders say that it is not easy to discern what actual price was paid for natural gas.

As a result, it is easy to obfuscate the total cost ratepayers pay for natural gas–fired electricity.

Nancy LaPlaca, principal of energy consultancy LaPlaca & Associates, told CleanTechnica: “If we don’t have someone really looking at this stuff, it’s very easy for the utility to hide a lot of costs and to stick it in rate base, because rate bases are extremely complex. Frankly, I don’t think anybody really even knows what’s in there.”

After many inquiries of the three utilities and the California Public Utility Commission, I discovered that the “machine” cost is also not public. At first, I was told that there is a three-year privacy protection, but even older gas contracts turned out not to be publicly available, unlike solar PPAs which frequently are public the week they are signed.

With natural gas, the “machine” price might now actually be higher overall than solar; but on top of that, there is no certainty that the daily varying price of each gas BTU will stay at today’s rock-bottom price. Natural gas fuel currently goes for under $3 per BTU. This results in per-kWh rates — for fuel — of under 3 cents — not including the fixed cost.

But the combined (fixed and variable) price of gas can be inferred by the reaction of utilities to the new solar prices.

“Utilities figure that just for the next hour, natural gas is two to three cents, and that’s just for fuel only: that’s with no payment for the machine,” Jacobs said.

“So when you walk in the door and say 3 cents/kWh for your PV — and that is the guaranteed rate for 20 years! To a utility, you don’t understand how big a deal that is.”
Another consideration for utilities, as they compare solar or gas contracts, is the newly revealed risk of gas leaks from pipelines or underground storage.
Gas Leaks a PR Nightmare

Gas-fired electricity has two economic risks: the unknown future fuel cost compared to one-price solar, and the risks when storing large volumes of natural gas underground near population centers.

Aliso Canyon woke the general public to a nightmare scenario. Because natural gas–fired power plants are near cities, the fuel is stored in close proximity to large population centers. Natural gas must be contained in gigantic caverns under the ground.

When Aliso Canyon blew a leak in 2015, which peaked at more than 60,000 kilograms per hour, more than 8,000 residents had to be relocated for their immediate safety at SoCalGas’ expense. Residents have sued. The relocation cost is now estimated to top $665 million.

Barium sulfate and other metals — used in well drilling and forced down wells to stop leaks — have contaminated curtains, sofas, bedding, and carpets in the homes in the area. So there will be more cleanup costs in addition to the relocation costs.

Storing large volumes of natural gas underground close to population centers is unavoidable if you choose to burn gas to make electricity.

When the population of Southern California was much lower, natural gas was stored in large holding tanks. But by the early 1940s, SoCalGas had to switch to underground storage.

SoCalGas now has four large underground caverns created by what is left behind after an oil field has being hollowed out by oil extraction. Natural gas is stored underground in 326 depleted oil fields nationwide, as well as in 31 salt caverns and 43 aquifers.

Surprisingly, the EIA brought attention to the dependency on this weak link in natural gas infrastructure with a rare warning: Natural gas leak at California storage site raises environmental and reliability concerns.

“Energy companies, system operators, and government officials are also interested in the leak’s potential reliability implications during the upcoming periods of high natural gas demand (this summer, next winter), and in identifying possible actions to mitigate any reliability concerns. It is not yet clear how much storage capacity will be available at the Aliso Canyon facility, and in what timeframe, once the leak is stopped.”

So, Aliso Canyon woke the EIA to a new weakness in the infrastructure needed to support natural gas–fired electricity; economic risk.

Inside Climate News noted that there is a high risk of future Aliso Canyon disasters due to the wear and tear on this aging oil-field infrastructure. Just this week, PG&E has shut down another underground storage site that has sprung a leak, albeit not on the same scale.

This double economic risk may even be starting to give California utilities pause.

In describing a future energy supply of renewables with storage, the chief development officer at SDG&E, James Avery, told the Energy Storage North America conference in San Diego:

“I see a future where there will be no more gas turbines.”

Sounds like they are IN DEBT!

Here comes the sun: US solar power market hits all-time high
After a rocky start, the American solar market is taking off and growing faster than coal and natural gas power. What will it take to make it go truly mainstream?
http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/jun/28/solar-power-energy-us-utilities-environment-climate-change
Solar energy in the US has had a rocky existence. Ever since Ronald Reagan symbolically removed Jimmy Carter’s solar panels from the White House roof in 1986, federal policy has been unpredictable, such that manufacturers and consumers could never depend on reliable incentives to produce and install solar energy systems.

For the first time, more solar systems came online than natural gas power plants – the top source of electricity in the US . On May 3, 2016, Serena Bruce (front), Richard Cochran (left) and Antwain Nelson (center), workers with Grid Alternatives, installed solar panels at a Northeast D.C. residence. The solar installation marked the millionth American install. Photograph: Eric Kruzewski for the Guardian

Remarkably, the US solar energy industry is now entering what may be its most prosperous decade ever, thanks to a new wave of federal and state policies and positive economics in the industry, both at home and abroad.

“I think it will actually be bigger than people are projecting,” says Jigar Shah, president and co-founder of Generate Capital, a clean energy investment firm based in San Francisco. “The solar industry is booming right now.”

The US solar industry expects to install 14.5 gigawatts of solar power in 2016, a 94% increase over the record 7.5 gigawatts last year, according to a new market report by GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association. Revenues from solar installations also increased 21% from 2014 to more than $22bn in 2015.

For the first time, more solar systems came online than natural gas power plants – the top source of electricity in the US – in 2015, as measured in megawatts, said Justin Baca, vice president of markets and research at the Solar Energy Industries Association. This year, new solar is expected to surpass installations of all other sources, said the US Energy Information Administration.

The rise of solar energy use, especially by homes and businesses with panels on their roofs, is gradually transforming the electricity industry. For more than a century, power plant owners and utilities have controlled the energy delivery service, and some of them enjoy a monopoly.

“We were just a tiny little speck 10 years ago, and now we are really up there with the major established generating technologies,” said Baca. “It’s amazing.”
Sunny path
What’s behind all this? A federal tax credit has played a key role: it enables home and business owners to take off 30% of the price of their solar energy systems from their income taxes. Congress renewed the tax credit last December.
Another factor is cost. It is simply a lot cheaper to install solar these days, largely because cost of components have declined considerably. The wholesale price of a solar panel today is about $0.65 per watt, compared with $0.74 per watt a year ago and $4 per watt in 2008.

The steep decline in prices began initially in Germany. In 2000, Germany adopted policies that heavily subsidized solar power by adding a special charge on consumer utility bills. Utilities use the money collected from that special charge to pay higher rates for solar energy as part of a government policy to promote renewable energy. The higher rates created a huge demand for solar panels, driving manufacturers to compete for those dollars and other countries to institute similar policies. Until last year, it was the largest solar energy producing country in the world.

“They created a massive demand for solar, and manufacturers around the world started stepping up to that,” Baca said. “Prior to that, a lot of solar panels were still largely made by hand. But the scale that manufacturers started growing to allowed a little bit more automation.”
Then China, where labor costs were lower, rose to become a mighty manufacturing force. Chinese manufacturers built massive factories to make solar panels, drove down the prices for solar panels and forced more than a hundred of its competitors in Europe, US and even within China to go bankrupt.

The fallout hurt so many businesses that the US government imposed tariffs on Chinese-made solar panels after determining that Chinese manufacturers were pricing their products at below fair-market values.

The tariffs and increasing domestic demand have boosted manufacturing jobs in the US, which is now one of the top five nations for solar panel producers behind China, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia.

“Now the market’s so large you can actually sustain the large manufacturing plants and support the product locally,” said Shah.

One example is SolarWorld, which is building a giant new solar panel factory in Buffalo, New York. The facility, expected to be in operation later this year, plans to employ 3,500 people. It will produce panels primarily for SolarWorld’s own projects around the world.

Declines in other sources of electricity generation has also helped solar’s growing popularity. The coal business suffered historic losses in 2015 as concern about its greenhouse gas emissions took hold. Just 3 megawatts of new coal generation came online in 2015, compared to about 2,600 megawatts for solar, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Dark clouds ahead?

Although the solar market is booming overall, its reliance on government incentives makes it vulnerable to the whims of policymakers. In Nevada, once considered a role model for solar development and a national leader for solar jobs per capita, the state Public Utilities Commission approved a major rollback of solar subsidies and policies last December.

The commission voted in response to a complaint by the state’s largest utility, NV Energy, which contended that the subsidy – and the billing process required for the program – threatened its profitability.
That change prompted SolarCity, one of America’s largest solar companies, to stop selling and installing new systems in Nevada and take some 550 jobs with it. Another company, Sunrun, did the same. As a result, the industry association expects Nevada to drop from the fifth-largest state for residential solar installations in 2015 to 31st by the end of this year.

Robert Boehm, director of the Center for Energy Research at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, said the changes could mean trouble ahead for the industry as a whole.

“My opinion is that many of the utilities in the US would like to do this in general,” Boehm said of curtailing state solar incentives and policies. “The whole rooftop solar thing has really gone south (in Nevada). We were amongst one of better states in terms of supporting rooftop solar. Now we are down amongst probably the worst.”

Energy storage presents another obstacle. Solar remains a small contributor to the nation’s energy supply, accounting for less than 1% percent of total electricity production. As it grows and replaces traditional sources of energy, which can produce electricity any time, the need to make solar energy available even when the sun isn’t shining will only grow.
Batteries are emerging to be the solution, but the technology and the manufacturing scale aren’t improving quick enough to make it financially feasible for the masses. One company, Tesla Motors, is attempting to address that problem by building a massive factory in Nevada to build lithium-ion batteries that will go into energy storage packs designed by Tesla for homes and businesses.

Tesla is counting on battery sales to complement its electric car business. Its CEO, Elon Musk, surprised investors last week when he announced Tesla’s plan to buy SolarCity. Musk is the chairman of SolarCity’s board of directors.
Boehm, who has solar panels on the roof of his home, said cheaper batteries will nudge more people to invest in solar equipment.

“I’m kind of an enthusiast, but I wouldn’t do it right now,” Boehm said. “I don’t think the costs are right. We’re seeing the price of batteries come down and they’re improving the performance of them too. The movement’s in the right direction.”

Richard Cochran (center) and Rico Jackson (right), workers with Grid Alternatives, position a solar panel at a Northeast D.C. residence. Photograph: Eric Kruzewski for the Guardian
Shah takes a different view. Consumers shouldn’t have to worry about energy storage because they can always count on the utilities if their own solar panels aren’t producing energy, he said. Utilities, on the other hand, should invest in more renewable energy and storage to meet the growing demand and ensure a stable flow of electricity.

“The amount of capital and investment going into to solar is at an all-time high,” Shah said. “I think the economics are clearly very good and we haven’t really even tapped but a very small percentage of our opportunities.”

US VS VSLR Q1
SUNW MKT Cap $47M
Revenue Q1 $19,572(t)
EPS Q1 -0.02 (3/31/2016)
Rev 2015 $53,713(t)
EPS 2015 .05
VSLR MKT Cap $301M
Revenue Q1 $17,230(t)
EPS Q1 -0.29 (3/31/2016)
Rev 2015 $64,182(t)
EPS 2015 0.12
Something does not compute!
Puts us at $14.52

b]New Ruling Opens Up 400 GW Renewables Market
http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2016_06_21_new_ruling_opens_up_400_gw_renewables_market
FERC confirms that co-ops can buy unlimited power from PURPA-qualifying facilities


http://www.dmea.com/
Delta-Montrose Electric Authority (DMEA) is not only responsible for keeping the lights on and the books in the black. As a member-owned rural electric cooperative in southwest Colorado, DMEA is also responsible for living up to the seven cooperative principles, including principle 7: concern for community.

So when hundreds of Delta County residents were laid off in a series of coal-mine closures, DMEA staff and leadership were looking for ways to meet their fiduciary responsibilities while also staving off an economic downturn. One obvious source of economic development was local renewable power. Nestled at the base of the Rocky Mountains on Colorado’s Western slope, Delta and Montrose counties are blessed with abundant sunshine and swift streams, rivers, and irrigation canals.

The majority of DMEA’s power comes from Tri-State, a Denver-based cooperative that provides generation and transmission services to 44 distribution co-ops in five states. The long-term contract with Tri-State allows DMEA to self-generate up to, but no more than, 5 percent of the co-op’s annual electricity use. In 2015, DMEA already sourced just under 5 percent of its electricity from local hydroelectric and solar, and therefore, when DMEA wanted to green its energy supply, reduce energy spend, and promote local economic development, the co-op was constrained in its options.

DMEA took the matter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which confirmed last Thursday that DMEA can source local and renewable electricity beyond its 5 percent self-generation limit by signing power purchase agreements with independent power producers. The ruling has major implications for the nation’s 905 electric cooperatives and 830 municipal utilities as well as the for-profit and nonprofit generation and transmission providers that serve those co-ops.
Tri-State vs. DMEA FERC Case

In 2015, DMEA filed a petition with FERC requesting the ability to sign power purchase agreements with independent power producers under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA). PURPA requires utilities to purchase electricity from any distributed and renewable qualified facilities (QFs) that can provide power at a price equal to or slightly above the avoided cost for electricity. DMEA argued that PURPA trumps their all-in contract with Tri-State, and that DMEA should be allowed to purchase power from cost-competitive qualified facilities. In June 2015, FERC ruled in DMEA’s favor.

In response to the FERC ruling, Tri-State created a tariff that would have penalized Tri-State-member distribution co-ops for purchasing power from QFs. Tri-State argued that it should be able to recover lost revenue from distribution co-ops through this penalty. Tri-State filed a petition to FERC requesting approval of this cost-recovery mechanism.

FERC’s Thursday ruling clearly rejected Tri-State’s petition, stating:

Tri-State’s petition would effectively undo Delta-Montrose’s statutory obligation to purchase from QFs and correspondingly limit QFs from selling power to Delta-Montrose at negotiated rates.
—FERC, June 2016 Commission Meeting Summaries

Implications for Rural Electric Cooperatives and Municipal Utilities

This ruling has two significant implications for rural electric cooperatives (co-ops), municipal utilities (munis), and the generation and transmission providers that serve those utilities (G&Ts).

1. Distribution co-ops and municipal utilities are no longer constrained in their ability to source cost-competitive local power

Most distribution co-ops and small municipal utilities are party to an all-in contract with a generation and transmission provider such as Tri-State. Typically those contracts include a clause that allows local utilities to self-generate up to around 5 percent of annual electricity use.

In recent years more distribution utilities are sourcing electricity from local clean power. Co-ops and munis are sourcing local renewable electricity to meet member demands for clean energy, hedge against fossil-fuel price increases, promote economic development, and save money.

In recent years as renewable energy costs have plummeted, these local distributed projects have become an opportunity for co-ops and munis to save money. For example, RMI’s Shine Initiative recently procured solar power on behalf of Kit Carson and Springer electric cooperatives (New Mexico), showing that distribution co-ops can procure solar at prices below all-in power prices charged by G&T providers. Now that renewable energy prices rival those of wholesale power, the co-op and muni renewable electricity market is poised to explode.

One particularly popular segment with munis and co-ops is community-scale solar. Community-scale solar is distribution-grid-connected solar PV sized between 0.5 MW and 5 MW. RMI predicts that the total co-op and muni markets for community-scale solar could exceed 10 GW through 2020.

Rural electric co-operatives and municipal utilities sell 987 TWh (million MWh) per year. Twenty gigawatts of solar would serve 5 percent of that consumption. Now that self-generation caps have effectively been lifted, the continuing decline of renewable power prices could open up a 400 GW potential market.

Clearly it would be a huge challenge to integrate 400 GW of solar into co-op and muni systems, but recent decreases in the price of battery storage are helping to overcome integration challenges. The FERC ruling effectively removes a policy barrier that has substantially constrained solar build-out. This means that the co-op and muni community-scale solar markets could be even larger than previously predicted.

2. G&Ts need to embrace a distributed energy future

Whereas distribution co-ops and municipal utilities can greatly benefit from the FERC ruling, it could be disruptive to generation and transmission providers (G&Ts). G&Ts make significant investments in transmission and generation infrastructure, and they depend on long-term revenue from member utilities to recover those costs. If G&Ts don’t coordinate with their member co-ops and munis, they could be left with billions of dollars of stranded assets.

This FERC ruling is a clear sign that generation and transmission providers will need to work collaboratively with member co-ops toward a cleaner, more distributed energy future. Models are emerging for this type of partnership, such as Dairyland Power, which is working with member co-ops to develop a portfolio of 15 MW community-scale solar.

G&Ts are natural aggregators and in most cases they have good, trusting relationships with their members. They are, therefore, well positioned to facilitate a transition to a low-cost distributed energy future. It remains to be seen if G&Ts will update their business models to keep up with evolving market realities.

Co-ops and munis nationwide can glean insights from the New York REV process in which multiple stakeholders are coming together to proactively address the transition to a distributed energy future.
Growing the Market
The FERC ruling has opened up a huge potential distributed renewable energy market. Renewable energy buyers and sellers both have a role to play in enabling this market to achieve its full potential.

Co-Ops and munis need to educate themselves on their options: Many co-ops and munis have great opportunities to competitively procure low-cost distributed renewables. They should educate themselves on current prices for solar and wind, third-party ownership options (e.g., PPA), self-generation laws, and policies at the G&T, state, and national levels. Now that renewables can be procured cost competitively, co-op staff and boards have an obligation to their members to educate themselves on renewable energy options.
Developers need to offer straightforward prices and system packages: Often developers contribute to buyer confusion by offering opaque or confusing prices for community-scale renewable resources. Developers can grow revenue, decrease customer acquisition costs, and better access the market by creating standardized packages and pricing options.
Developers and buyers together need to come together to minimize system cost: Buyers and sellers both play a role in decreasing the total cost of community-scale solar. They share cost-reduction levers and can effectively come together to reduce cost through things like effective contracting, rational delineation of development activities, volume aggregation, and lean system design.

RMI’s Shine Initiative is helping to accelerate solar procurement in the community-scale market. Practically, RMI is supporting community-scale buyers with procurement, helping developers better access this market, and spreading the word on emerging insights. RMI and Delta County–based Solar Energy International (SEI) are planning a buyers’ boot camp this fall to assist motivated rural electric cooperatives that wish to procure community-scale solar. RMI and SEI are recruiting co-op participants for this event.

Back on Colorado’s Western Slope, DMEA is preparing for more local electricity. According to DMEA renewable energy engineer Jim Henneghan, DMEA plans to comply with PURPA and purchase power from QFs. A 2.4 MW small hydro project on an irrigation canal is approaching completion, and DMEA has published avoided cost-data on its website for other interested QFs.

This new local power can promote local economic development and help DMEA save its members money. Thanks to a 38-year-old law, DMEA is now better able to live up to its mission to serve its members and serve its community.

Image courtesy of iStock.

Another negative on Elon Musk......
But FEW have the brains, guts and vision....

Australia’s big energy switch: from coal and gas to wind and solar
By Giles Parkinson on 23 June 2016
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2016/australias-big-energy-switch-from-coal-and-gas-to-wind-and-solar-52554
The policies may not yet be in place, and the resistance from the incumbents will be fierce, but according to global analysts Bloomberg New Energy Finance,

By 2040, BNEF predicts, one third of all capacity which will be located “behind the meter” – which means via rooftop solar on households and businesses (38GW), and mostly tied to battery storage (15GW).

Over the same period, some 27GW of large scale solar plants and 19GW of large scale wind farms will be added to the system. Combined with small scale solar PV and hydro, this will provide two thirds of Australia’s power capacity and 59 per cent of generation by 2040.

These new solar and wind farms will replace 16GW of coal fired generation that has been retired either because of old age, or because they are not flexible enough to compete in a high renewables market. Only 12GW will remain in the market by 2040, with nearly of that with “life extensions”.

“This is a fundamental change,” says BNEF’s chief analyst in Australia, Kobad Bhavnagri. “Australia’s power sector is expected to fundamentally change over the next 25 years as an influx of end-user PV and energy storage is driven into the system.”

He estimates that $A116 billion will be invested to achieve this near 60 per cent renewable energy capacity, and 89 per cent of that money will be spent on renewables themselves.

The biggest change though is through the customer, who will invest in rooftop solar and batter storage because of the “superior economics” of these technologies, which he says will be able to supply consumers with electricity at a lower cost than the grid.
On large scale generation, Bhavnagri says it is clear that renewables lead on cost – as coal retires, its generation will predominantly be replaced by lower cost renewables. Thats because wind and solar, while possibly more expensive than existing coal fired generators (if you ignore the environmental costs) will be much cheaper than new coal or gas plants).

The economics of even existing coal fired generator will be challenged because they are not flexible enough. In effect, many will fall the way of the Northern power station, the last coal generator in South Australia which was closed because of falling wholesale power prices and the impact of wind energy.

Indeed, this graph above shows the changing nature of the grid, with solar carving out large amount of supply during the day. This accords with predictions for market operators that rooftop solar alone will account for all daytime demand on some days, as soon as 2025 in states such as South Australia and West Australia.

Bhavnagri says gas-fired generation, because of its better flexibility, will play an important role at times of low renewable output, but its overall generation share will remain small.

Instead, demand response technologies (6GW) and other flexible technologies (7GW) such as large-scale storage could also contribute, potentially limiting the need for more gas.
Despite all of this, greenhouse gas emissions fall, but not enough – a similar conclusion brought by BNEF in its global report released earlier this month.
“The exit of coal and replacement by renewables will see emissions fall after 2017, but not enough to meet Australia’s targets. By 2020, power sector emissions are still 7 per cent above 2000 levels, and by 2030 they are some 23% below 2005 levels.”
The BNEF scenarios are based on no changes to policies: i.e. that the renewable energy target is not extended, and the various elements of “Direct Action” – the emissions reduction fund and the safeguards mechanism – have no impact on the power sector.
In other words, it is a forecast based on economics and market forces. But, it warns: “The lack of sound policy in Australia is a risk to the outlook.”
In particular, Bhavnagri says, it is large contingent on the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target being met – because it will key to deciding whether the future is shaped by variable renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, or the incumbents coal and gas.
That is because if the target is met, there will be enough new variable wind and solar capacity in the system to change the market to the point that it will trigger the retirement of coal fired power (see that graph above).
That will be followed by another key event – in 2035 – when more renewable energy capacity means that the retirement of coal becomes unstoppable – driven by volatile wholesale markets and coal generators’ inability to cope with the need to flexibility.
“Baseload generation will become a liability,” Bhavnagri says. “Flexible generation will be the key attribute.” And this may explain the fierce resistance from the coal generators, not just to the federal target, but to the increased state-based targets unveiled by the likes of South Australia, Victoria and Queensland.
And the news is not good for the Australian coal mining industry either. BNEF, like others, believes that the seaborne thermal coal market is in structural decline, mostly because the presumed biggest customer, India, will meet most of its demand from domestic supplies.
For more information about the BNEF new energy outlook go to about.bnef.com/newenergyoutlook

just WHO has a 200MI true EV out there. And just which brand of EV can you drive across thye country easily. NONE YET. Keep on hearing about "competition" and there is NONE out there,
Te new Tesla will be able to offer a COMPLETE solution....
OIL IS DEAD! Solar lives!

Face it. Cars like Tesla are going to kill oil.
SUNW and SCTY/TSLA will really slow the use of fossil fuels.....
With solar on the garage roof, who needs oil/gas....

Hi Don!
Nice job cutting coal and moving to Solar/Wind!
Need more solar!

They are BOTH going to happen.
Make electric power CHEAP and people will switch from other forms of energy.
So bye bye bye fossil fuels! AND Sandridge Energy!

TEOTWAWKI
In a GOOD way!

And with Donnie-Boy at a 70% negative rating, it looks like he won't be blocking solar....
DNC has new leadership. It will help with things going more our way.....

Sandridge Energy
$65.46 to 2¢
Invest $100,000 have enough to buy a pizza $30 ... Maybe!

Carbon Sciences Extends Graphene Research Project with University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB)

University to Continue Research and Development of New Graphene-Based Optical Modulator, a Fiber Optic Component Designed to Enable Ultrafast Data Center Communication for Cloud Computing

Jun 07, 2016, 09:15 ET from Carbon Sciences Inc.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/carbon-sciences-extends-graphene-research-project-with-university-of-california-santa-barbara-ucsb-582087371.html
Carbon Sciences Inc. (OTC: CABN), developer of breakthrough technologies based on graphene, the new miracle material, today announced that the Company has extended its Sponsored Research Agreement with the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).

The extension will allow UCSB to continue the research and development of a potentially ultrafast optical modulator based on graphene. An optical modulator is a critical fiber optic component for the encoding and transmission of digital data.

Graphene, being 1 million times thinner than a strand of human hair and 200 times stronger than steel, boasts the capability of delivering extreme high speed and tunable conductivity. Based on these fundamental properties, graphene has the potential to be used in modulating light at very high speeds, yielding a heightened capacity to efficiently encode and transmit digital data.

In an effort to develop an ultrafast, low cost, and low power, graphene-based optical modulator, Carbon Sciences has proactively engaged UCSB, a global leader in bioengineering, chemical and computational engineering, materials science, nanotechnology and physics. The 6-month research program that commenced in January 2016 has been extended for an additional 3 months. This will allow the research team to complete a prototype device and perform various measurements to determine the effectiveness and potential of the design.

Bill Beifuss, President of Carbon Sciences, commented, "We believe that the world is on the threshold of a new era in Cloud computing, where the rising demand for data reflects an ongoing upsurge in people, places and things. It's exciting to see how our research has progressed and we look forward, with great anticipation, to what the future has in store for this technology, our Company, and our shareholders."

Fiber optic technology, being the backbone of the Internet, has encountered explosive growth in Internet data, in large part as a result of an ever-growing number of Cloud-based services such as Netflix, Facebook, and Google. Consequently, the fundamental speed limits of current state-of-the-art fiber optic materials are being substantially challenged. In consideration, Management believes that new materials, such as graphene, must be explored and used to significantly increase the speed of data movement in the Cloud. The Company believes that graphene technology has the potential to revolutionize ultrafast data communication. Thereby unleashing a global era of high-resolution video on demand, high fidelity music streaming, high volume e-commerce and many more Cloud-based services. For more information on how the technology works, please visit the Company's website at: http://www.CarbonSciences.com

UCSB boasts five Nobel Laureates (four in sciences and engineering) and one winner of the prestigious Millennium Technology Prize. The 2014 Academic Ranking of World Universities ranked UCSB Engineering/Technology and Computer Science as #7 in the world.

About Carbon Sciences, Inc.: Carbon Sciences is developing breakthrough technologies based on graphene, the new miracle material. Graphene, a sheet of pure carbon that is only one atom thick, is flexible, transparent, impermeable to moisture, stronger than diamonds and more conductive than gold. After successfully exploring methods to produce low cost graphene, Carbon Sciences is now developing a new graphene-based optical modulator, a critical fiber optics component needed to help unclog the existing bottlenecks and enable ultrafast communication in data centers for Cloud computing. The Company is also undertaking a growth-by-acquisition strategy to extend its presence in the $3.8 trillion worldwide information technology (IT) market with a particular focus on profitable IT services providers. To learn more about Carbon Sciences, please visit http://www.CarbonSciences.com

Safe Harbor Statement: Matters discussed in this press release contain statements that look forward within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "may," "intend," "expect" and similar expressions identify such statements that look forward. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the statements that look forward contained herein, and while expected, there is no guarantee that we will attain the aforementioned anticipated developmental milestones. These statements that look forward are based largely on the expectations of the Company and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with: the impact of economic, competitive and other factors affecting the Company and its operations, markets, product, and distributor performance, the impact on the national and local economies resulting from terrorist actions, and U.S. actions subsequently; and other factors detailed in reports filed by the Company.

Press Contact:
Byron Elton
byron@carbonsciences.com

CABN
Carbon Sciences Provides Progress Update on Graphene Optical Modulator Project
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/carbon-sciences-provides-progress-update-on-graphene-optical-modulator-project-582935241.html
SANTA BARBARA, California, June 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Carbon Sciences Inc. (OTC: CABN), developer of breakthrough technologies based on graphene, the new miracle material, today provided an update on the graphene-based optical modulator that is currently under development at the University of California at Santa Barbara ("UCSB").

An optical modulator is a critical fiber optic component for the encoding and transmission of digital data. Over the past number of months, the research team at UCSB worked extensively on the design and fabrication of a graphene-based optical modulator. The goal is to create a design that is ultrafast, low cost, and low power. During the process, the team developed a novel modeling technique that allowed for the precise calculation of optical waveguide properties containing graphene. This technique should theoretically enable more precise design and simulation of graphene optical devices, such as a modulator. The modeling technique and findings have been accepted for publication and presentation in the Advanced Photonics 2016 Congress, sponsored by The Optical Society.

Carbon Sciences recently extended the sponsored research program to September 2016, which will allow the team proper time to evaluate and characterize the modulator device, as well as make further refinements.

Bill Beifuss, President of Carbon Sciences, commented, "We are happy with the progress we are experiencing. It's thrilling to witness this technology evolve and come to life. We look forward to continued progress from this project."

Fiber optic technology, being the backbone of the Internet, has encountered explosive growth in Internet data, in large part as a result of an ever-growing number of Cloud-based services such as Netflix, Facebook, and Google. Consequently, the fundamental speed limits of current state-of-the-art fiber optic materials are being substantially challenged. In consideration, Management believes that new materials, such as graphene, must be explored and used to significantly increase the speed of data movement in the Cloud. The Company believes that graphene technology has the potential to revolutionize ultrafast data communication. Thereby unleashing a global era of high-resolution video on demand, high fidelity music streaming, high volume e-commerce and many more Cloud-based services.

About Carbon Sciences, Inc.: Carbon Sciences is developing breakthrough technologies based on graphene, the new miracle material. Graphene, a sheet of pure carbon that is only one atom thick, is flexible, transparent, impermeable to moisture, stronger than diamonds and more conductive than gold. After successfully exploring methods to produce low cost graphene, Carbon Sciences is now developing a new graphene-based optical modulator, a critical fiber optics component needed to help unclog the existing bottlenecks and enable ultrafast communication in data centers for Cloud computing. The Company is also undertaking a growth-by-acquisition strategy to extend its presence in the $3.8 trillion worldwide information technology (IT) market with a particular focus on profitable IT services providers. To learn more about Carbon Sciences, please visit http://www.CarbonSciences.com

Safe Harbor Statement: Matters discussed in this press release contain statements that look forward within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "may," "intend," "expect" and similar expressions identify such statements that look forward. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the statements that look forward contained herein, and while expected, there is no guarantee that we will attain the aforementioned anticipated developmental milestones. These statements that look forward are based largely on the expectations of the Company and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with: the impact of economic, competitive and other factors affecting the Company and its operations, markets, product, and distributor performance, the impact on the national and local economies resulting from terrorist actions, and U.S. actions subsequently; and other factors detailed in reports filed by the Company.

Google project sunroof has been greatly expanded
https://www.google.com/get/sunroof#exp=7.1&p=0

Solar energy now cheaper than fossil fuels even without subsidies

June 14, 2016

Credit: Pixabay

Speaking to CNBC’s Bob Pisani, energy analyst Ramez Naam gave a brief overview of where the solar energy market stands today. Essentially, Naam reiterated what ZME Science has been reporting closely over the last few years:

Electricity enabled by fossil fuels trades at roughly 7-7.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, but just outside L.A. a new plant currently in the works is set to 3.6 cents per kilowatt-hour. Elsewhere, in Dubai, a bid worth a record-breaking US 2.99 cents per kilowatt hour was accepted.

Last December, Congress extended the federal investment tax credit which gives a tax credit of 30 percent of the value of solar projects. Under the new scheme, the 30 percent solar tax credit will extend through 2019 and then decline gradually to 10 percent in 2022. After 2022 the credit will be eliminated for residential solar installations and will continue at 10 percent for commercial ones.

Meanwhile, fossil fuels will still be subsidized even though the tech is centuries old. Apparently, solar and wind deserve subsidies only for a couple of years until they’ve matured, which if fair in this context, but not in the larger one where fossil fuels still retain enormous subsidies. This is essentially a form of disloyal competition.
Despite this setback, solar energy contractors are already working hard to push the solar energy kilowatt-hour price tag down to the point where it’s least just as cheap as fossil fuels post-2020 — tax credits or not.

That’s a nationwide plan, in the United States, because solar energy is already cheaper without subsidies than subsidized fossil fuels in many sunny places. So far, 30 million Americans enjoy clean solar energy that’s cheaper than their fossil run utility electricity.

“The unsubsidized electricity cost from industrial-scale solar PV in the most favorable locations is now well below $40 per megawatt-hour and could very easily be below $20 per megawatt-hour by 2020. said Harvard’s David Keith, a researcher who works the interface between climate science, energy technology, and public policy.

Right now, solar energy accounts for only 1% of all the electricity generated in the United States. This is a big problem, but one that can be turned into an advantage.

It means there’s a lot of headroom, and despite competition is fierce once a market leader positions itself, the growth will be explosive. The solar market should grow by 119 percent in 2016 compared to the previous year, and at least just as much capacity (16 gigawatts of solar) should come online year in year out until 2020.

In the last five years, the price of solar energy has dropped five-fold. How much will solar energy cost five years from now? What about twenty? You can only postpone the inevitable.

“Think about the cost of energy—it fluctuates. But the cost of technology, like the cellphone in your pocket? Those costs only go down. So now we have a technology that produces energy. It just gets cheaper and cheaper and will disrupt everything in its path,” Naam told CNBC.

The effects of solar power!
Coal And Gas To Begin ‘Terminal Decline’ In Less Than A Decade, Bloomberg Says
A stunning new forecast on “peak fossil fuels for electricity” by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) concludes that “coal and gas will begin their terminal decline in less than a decade.”

It’s been clear for a while that coal demand is plateauing, if it hasn’t already peaked. But BNEF explains that of the “eight massive shifts coming soon to power markets,” #1 is “There Will Be No Golden Age of Gas.”

Here is the core finding of BNEF’s “annual long-term view of how the world’s power markets will evolve in the future,” their New Energy Outlook (NEO):

These conclusions may come as a surprise to the vast majority of U.S. policy- and opinion-makers, but all the way back in November the International Energy Agency came to a similar conclusion: “Driven by continued policy support, renewables account for half of additional global generation, overtaking coal around 2030 to become the largest power source.”

I’ve been reporting on this trend in my ongoing series “almost everything you know about climate change solutions is probably outdated” (see, for instance, “We Can Stop Searching For The Clean Energy Miracle. It’s Already Here”).

BNEF, however, keeps putting out the most comprehensive, up-to-date, chart-filled, data-driven analyses of the clean energy revolution — and it is all must-read stuff.

Let me single out two charts in particular, an amazing one you’ve probably seen before, and an equally amazing one you probably haven’t.
Solar and Wind Prices Plummet

In a section headlined, “Solar and Wind Prices Plummet,” BNEF says “The chart below is arguably the most important chart in energy markets. It describes a pattern so consistent, and so powerful, that industries set their clocks by it.”

“Wind-power prices are also falling fast — 19 percent for every doubling,” explains BNEF. They project that over the next quarter-century, dropping prices and improving performance (see below) will drive the world to a stunning $3.4 trillion investment in solar, and $3.1 trillion for wind — and both of those exceed the cumulative investment of $2.1 trillion projected for all fossil fuels through 2040. BNEF expects an investment in new hydropower of some $900 billion through 2040, and an investment of about $1.1 trillion in new nuclear.

The result of these investments and the continued learning by solar and wind means make “these two technologies the cheapest ways of producing electricity in many countries during the 2020s and in most of the world in the 2030s.”

It’s “business as usual.” It does not assume the world embraces the policies needed to drive the investments necessary to stabilize below the 2°C (3.6°F), as the nations of the world have unanimously agreed to do in Paris last December. In the below-2 degrees Celsius scenario, “the world would need to invest another $5.3 trillion in zero-carbon power by 2040.”

Also, given how increasingly cost competitive solar and wind are on their own over the next decade or two, the trend to put a price on carbon in a growing number of countries around the world means that, for those nations, renewables will be competitive even sooner.
Capacity Factors Go Wild

BNEF explains that one of the “massive shifts coming soon to power markets” is: “Capacity Factors Go Wild.” The capacity factor is the “percentage of a power plant’s maximum potential that’s actually achieved over time.”

Wind, for instance, “varies in strength with the time of day, weather, and the seasons.” That means “a project that can crank out 100 megawatt hours of electricity during the windiest times might produce just 30 percent of that when averaged out over a year.” That would be a 30 percent capacity factor.

BNEF’s key post is that the capacity factors for renewables keep going up as the technology gets better and we get smarter about figuring out the optimal placement. BNEF reports that “Some wind farms in Texas are now achieving capacity factors of 50 percent” (!) and offer up this remarkable chart of capacity factors over time:

Some Texas wind farms now generate full power the equivalent of half the time.

CREDIT: BNEF

As capacity factors and prices improve, renewables become more attractive. Moreover, once built, the marginal cost of operating a solar and wind plan is “pretty much zero — free electricity — while coal and gas plants require more fuel for every new watt produced.” Choosing free zero-pollution power over not-free dirty power isn’t a tough choice for utilities.

And that brings us to BNEF’s jaw-dropping conclusion: “As natural gas and coal plants are increasingly idled in favor of renewables, their capacity factors will take a big hit, and lifetime cost of those plants goes up. Think of them as the expensive back-up power for cheap renewables.”

Geeze, that was a whole lotta typing!

Hey sniper!
Utah companies bring renewable energy to forefront
https://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=40185465&nid=1012&title=utah-companies-bring-renewable-energy-to-forefront
By Mike Stapley, KSL.com Contributor | Posted Jun 13th, 2016 @ 11:30am
SALT LAKE CITY — The fifth annual Governor’s Utah Energy Development Summit was held recently in Salt Lake City.

Several states, including Utah, are struggling with budget shortfalls this year as oil and gas production hit all-time lows. In Utah, coal production was at a 30-year low in 2015 and total energy revenues were half of what they were in 2014.


Consumers see volatility and uncertainty in gasoline and electricity prices. Now more than ever, consumers are looking to take control of their home energy use with rooftop solar panels.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, national home solar panel use has grown from approximately 30,000 homes in 2006 to over 400,000 homes in 2013. By the year 2020, over 1 million homes in the U.S. will likely be taking advantage of rooftop solar panels.
In Utah, Legend Solar is one of many companies helping consumers save money on their energy bills and be good stewards of the environment. Legend was founded in 2012 in St. George by Shaun Alldredge and Shane Perkins.

“Solar power allows a consumer to save a lot of money by owning the power source rather than essentially renting the coal power eternally from the power company," according to Alldredge.

Consumers in Utah typically do not have a choice in who they get their electricity from. Without competition, prices are fixed.



First and foremost, Legend Solar offers SunPower brand panels, which have a full 25-year warranty. Legend had to try more than once to be a SunPower dealer.

“It’s been a fun ride with SunPower,” said Alldredge. “We had to apply a couple of times and prove ourselves and prove that Utah is a great market.”

Currently, Legend Solar is one of SunPower's highest-volume elite dealers. The panels can withstand winds of up to 120 mph and are estimated to last three times or more beyond the warranty period.

Legend Solar also offers a guarantee that its customers will see the return on investment initially quoted to them. Customers have the ability to see, in real time, how their system is performing and identify potential problems quickly. Most consumers can expect their panels to pay for themselves, with energy savings, in seven to 10 years, according to the company.
Many will be surprised to learn that solar panels have no moving parts and require little to no routine maintenance. Legend Solar offers financing for up to 12 years.

Most are likely aware by now that both the federal and state government offer subsidies to encourage homeowners to take advantage of solar power. Congress recently renewed a tax incentive for consumers that equals 30 percent of the gross cost of a solar system.

That program is renewed until at least 2019. The state of Utah currently offers a $2,000 tax incentive to consumers who install solar panels.

Home batteries have been in the news lately and Legend Solar offers that option to its customers. Currently, about 5 percent of homeowners opt to install batteries that can provide electricity in the event of power outages. Eventually, battery technology may improve to the point that homes could be taken off the grid entirely.

Most of Legend Solar’s business is on the consumer side and involves residential installations. Legend Solar estimates about 25 percent of its business will be commercial in nature.

Recently, Legend committed to a $10 million donation to Dixie State University that provides for renovation of the newly-named Legend Solar Stadium. In addition to stadium renovations, a 1,500-kilowatt solar system will be installed throughout campus between now and 2027 that is expected to save the university millions of dollars in energy use over time.

As the demand for solar power in Utah and Nevada grows, Legend Solar is prepared to grow with it. Alldredge said he is committed to providing customers value in terms of product, warranty and return on investment.

“Shane and I have always asked ourselves what would we want for our own home and why would we choose it,” Alldredge said. “We’ve chosen the products we offer that way.”

Jun 2nd, 2016 Sunworks Inc (SUNW) Cut to Sell at Zacks Investment Research
http://www.wkrb13.com/markets/1430150/sunworks-inc-sunw-cut-to-sell-at-zacks-investment-research-2/
Jun 10th, 2016 Zacks: Sunworks Inc (NASDAQ:SUNW) Given Consensus Rating of “Strong Buy” by Brokerages
http://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/1852620/zacks-sunworks-inc-nasdaqsunw-given-consensus-rating-of-strong-buy-by-brokerages/
WHAT CHANGED?
I've seen VETR give a buy and a sell on the SAME DAY!

Enough to get a headache!

And if a denier like Trump comes in. As cuts advancement of solar technology, China has a chance to COMPLETELY OWN the tech. Enough of them stealing our tech, they would LEGALLY OWN it...

Sunworks Incorporated (NASDAQ:SUNW) Short Interest Increased By 16.92%
by Donnie Powell — June 12, 2016
The stock of Sunworks Incorporated (NASDAQ:SUNW) registered an increase of 16.92% in short interest. SUNW’s total short interest was 1.15 million shares in June as published by FINRA. Its up 16.92% from 984,700 shares, reported previously. With 159,900 shares average volume, it will take short sellers 7 days to cover their SUNW’s short positions. The short interest to Sunworks Incorporated’s float is 6.8%. The stock decreased 3.28% or $0.08 on June 10, hitting $2.36. About 180,940 shares traded hands or 13.33% up from the average. Sunworks Inc (NASDAQ:SUNW) has declined 32.57% since November 4, 2015 and is downtrending. It has underperformed by 32.27% the S&P500.
Sunworks, Inc., formerly Solar3D, Inc., provides photo voltaic based power systems for the residential, commercial and agricultural markets in California and Nevada. The company has a market cap of $47.60 million. The Company, through its operating subsidiaries, designs, arranges financing, integrates, installs and manages systems ranging in size from 2 kilowatt (KW) for residential loads to multi megawatts (MW) systems for larger commercial projects. It has a 38.25 P/E ratio. The Company’s commercial installations include office buildings, manufacturing plants, warehouses and agricultural facilities, such as farms, wineries and dairies.

EVERYTHING that you would want to know about solar in one place!
https://issuu.com/midwestrenewableenergy/docs/reupload

Great interview w/82-year-old Reagan-appointee lawyer who's now leading the legal charge for fossil fuel divestment https://t.co/pwkCgdej5E

— Bill McKibben (@billmckibben) June 8, 2016

Great interview w/82-year-old Reagan-appointee lawyer who's now leading the legal charge for fossil fuel divestment
Draft by Bevis Longstreth –1/29/16
Outline of Possible Interpretative Release by States’ Attorneys
General Under The Uniform Prudent
Management of Institutional Funds Act
http://insideclimatenews.org/sites/default/files/documents/UPMIFAInterpretationBevisLongstrethPDF.pdf
Will This Retired Lawyer Open the Floodgates of Divestment From Fossil Fuels?
Bevis Longstreth intends a six-page document he's written to provide the key. Don't sell him short, he's done this kind of thing before.
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/07062016/retired-lawyer-boris-longstreth-floodgates-divestment-fossil-fuels-climate-change-investments

I told ya that the SpaceX flights were the ultimate, off grid, experiments....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/06/10/elon-musk-provides-new-details-on-his-mind-blowing-mission-to-mars/
Elon Musk provides new details on his ‘mind blowing’ mission to Mars
Ever since Elon Musk founded a start-up space company 14 years ago, the goal has always been the same: Establishing a colony on Mars. Now he’s finally beginning to reveal how he plans to get there.

Starting as soon as 2018, Musk’s SpaceX plans to fly an unmanned spacecraft to Mars. The unmanned flights would continue about every two years, timed for when Earth and Mars are closest in orbit, and, if everything goes according to plan, build toward the first human mission to Mars with the goal of landing in 2025, Musk has said.

But in an interview with The Post this week, Musk laid out additional details for the first time, equating the spirit of the missions with the settlement of the New World by the colonists who crossed the Atlantic Ocean centuries ago. And he acknowledged the immense difficulties of getting to a planet that is, on average, 140 million miles from Earth.

The months-long journey is sure to be “hard, risky, dangerous, difficult,” Musk said, but he was confident people would sign up to go because “just as with the establishment of the English colonies, there are people who love that. They want to be the pioneers.”
These three men vow to get you to space sooner rather than later
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Three leaders in commercial space flight, Elon Musk of SpaceX, Jeff Bezos of Blue Origin, and Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic, discuss the path to making commercial spaceflight a reality. (Jhaan Elker/The Washington Post)

Before those pioneers board a rocket, though, Musk said the unmanned flights would carry science experiments and rovers to the planet. The equipment would be built either by SpaceX, or others. The early flights also would serve to better understand interplanetary navigation and allow the company to test its ability to safely land craft on Mars.

“Essentially what we’re saying is we’re establishing a cargo route to Mars,” he said. “It’s a regular cargo route. You can count on it. It’s going happen every 26 months. Like a train leaving the station. And if scientists around the world know that they can count on that, and it’s going to be inexpensive, relatively speaking compared to anything in the past, then they will plan accordingly and come up with a lot of great experiments.”

[SpaceX says it will fly a spacecraft to Mars as soon as 2018.]

The mission is all the more audacious in that SpaceX is a private company without the resources of a government agency. NASA has previously said it would provide “technical support” for the 2018 mission, though not financially, in exchange for what it said was “valuable, descent and landing data to NASA for our journey to Mars, while providing support to American industry.” NASA is planning its own manned Mars mission with the goal of landing in the 2030s. But some in Congress have indicated they are inclined to steer the agency back toward a moon mission first.

SpaceX's 2018 trip would use what the company calls its Dragon spacecraft boosted into space by Falcon Heavy, a massive rocket powered by 27 first-stage engines. When it flies for the first time later this year, it would become the “most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two,” SpaceX says on its website. Falcon Heavy would have more than 5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, or about the equivalent of 18 747 airplanes.

The rocket needs to be big. The Dragon spacecraft would become the largest object to land on the Martian surface “by a factor of 10,” Musk said. That would make it one of the most ambitious Martian landings ever attempted—and difficult. Of the 43 robotic missions to Mars, including flybys, attempted by four different countries, only 18 have been total successes. The latest, a NASA mission, delivered the unmanned Curiosity rover that is currently roaming the planet.

An artist's rendering of what a SpaceX Dragon capsule would look like landing on Mars. (Photo courtesy of SpaceX.)

Some have pointed out that Musk's timeline is exceedingly ambitious, especially considering SpaceX has yet to fly the Falcon Heavy or land Dragon by using its own engine thrust, which is a key component to landing in the relatively thin Martian atmosphere.

By the next launch window, in 2020, Musk said the company would aim to fly at least two Falcon Heavy rockets and Dragon spacecraft, loaded with experiments. “By that time there will be quite a few organizations … that are interested in running experiments on Mars,” he said.

Then in 2022, Musk said he hoped to launch what the company now sometimes refers to as the Mars Colonial Transporter, designed to bring a colony to Mars.

Musk declined to provide too many details, saying he would unveil the system at a conference in September. But he was clearly excited about the prospect and could barely contain himself.

“This is going to be mind blowing,” he said. “Mind blowing. It’s going to be really great.”

At another point he said: “I’m so tempted to talk more about the details of it. But I have to restrain myself.”

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The day's top stories on the world of tech.

Still, he said that “the first mission wouldn’t have a huge number of people on it, because if something goes wrong, we want to risk the fewest number of lives as possible.”

And he acknowledged that the company would have to “get lucky and things go according to plan” to hit a launch window for manned flight in late 2024, with a landing in 2025.

“But I do want to emphasize this is not about sending a few people to Mars,” he continued. “It’s about having an architecture that would enable the creation of a self-sustaining city on Mars with the objective of being a multi-planet species and a true space-faring civilization and one day being out there among the stars.”

He said he hadn’t yet figured out who would be among the first to go, or how they would be chosen. But he said they would be pioneers willing to take the risk. "Hopefully there’s enough people who are like that who are willing to go build the foundation, at great risk, for a Martian city.

“It’s dangerous and probably people will die—and they’ll know that,” he continued. “And then they’ll pave the way, and ultimately it will be very safe to go to Mars, and it will very comfortable. But that will be many years in the future.”

I think that it's time for some of these posters to display this!

Solar Added More New Capacity Than Coal, Natural Gas and Nuclear Combined
https://ecowatch.com/2016/06/09/solar-new-capacity
Solar is on track for another record-shattering year. According to a new report from GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the U.S. solar industry will install 14.5 gigawatts of capacity in 2016, nearly doubling the 7.5 gigawatts in capacity installed in 2015.

The U.S. solar market will nearly double in 2016, thanks to large-scale projects led by utilities. Photo credit: Flickr
The U.S. has now reached 29.3 gigawatts of total installed capacity, enough to power 5.7 million American homes.

Solar—a pollution-free, renewable resource—will help the country move towards the low-carbon future it needs. In fact, 2015 was the first time solar exceeded natural gas capacity additions on an annual basis.

“This growth cements solar energy’s role as a mainstay in America’s portfolio of electricity sources,” the report noted.

The share of new U.S. electric generating capacity additions. Photo credit: GTM Research / SEIA U.S. Solar Market Insight, Q2 2016
California, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Nevada and New York had the top solar markets in this quarter, with overall price for all solar systems dropping 8.8 percent.

The report said that residential solar installations have increased 34 percent from the prior year. Commercial and industrial customers installations rose 36 percent. More than one million solar photovoltaic installations are now operating across the country.

“While it took us 40 years to hit 1 million U.S. solar installations, we’re expected to hit 2 million within the next two years,” said Tom Kimbis, SEIA’s interim president. “The solar industry is growing at warp speed, driven by the fact that solar is one of the lowest cost options for electricity and it’s being embraced by people who both care about the environment and want access to affordable and reliable electricity.”

The future is bright. This chart shows the staggering increase of U.S. photovoltaic installations from the first quarter of 2010. Photo credit: GTM Research / SEIA U.S. Solar Market Insight, Q2 2016
As Reuters noted, the solar industry’s remarkable growth was due in part to utility companies scrambling to bring their solar projects online before the expiration of the Solar Investment Tax Credit, a 30 percent federal tax credit for both residential and commercial projects that was supposed to expire at the end of 2016. That credit, however, was extended through the end of 2019.

According to Reuters, “utilities in many markets are procuring solar as a hedge against volatile natural gas prices, the report said, pointing to the sharp drop in the price of utility-scale solar in recent years.”

GTM said in its report that the extension of the federal tax credit will spur more than 20 gigawatts of additional solar capacity by 2021. However, the utility-scale market is expected to contract next year and in 2018.

Sunworks expects 3D solar cell patent this summer
Jun 9, 2016 14:57 CEST by Tsvetomira Tsanova

Author: Carl Milner. License: Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic.
June 9 (SeeNews) - The Chinese Patent Office is to grant a patent to Sunworks Inc (NASDAQ:SUNW) for its three-dimensional solar cell technology later this year, taking the US firm a step closer to commercialisation.

The solar energy company said today the grant is seen to occur around August, provided there are no delays in the patent office. The patent will apply to Sunworks' Three-Dimensional Power Systems and Methods of Making Same.

The patent is expected to help the company speed up work with manufacturers in pursuit of the Solar3D Cell’s commercialisation.

Sunworks, formerly known as Solar3D, has been developing its three-dimensional (3D) silicon photovoltaic (PV) cell for several years. The first working prototype had an efficiency of 25%, as announced by the company. The cell collects sunlight from a wide angle and allows light to bounce within the three-dimensional microstructures until fully absorbed, maximising the conversion capability.

While working on its innovative cell, the US company made several acquisitions in the residential and commercial solar installation segments.

GREAT! Another 12,200 shares bought!

The problem with a bunch of areas who have a ton of sunlight is that they are HOT. And heat kills the output of solar panels....

SunPower to build 10 MW solar power plant in Alabama
http://www.greentechlead.com/solar/sunpower-build-10-mw-solar-power-plant-alabama-30152

That is RED STATE Alabama....
Guess that free power is addicting....
Alabama is the home of Walter Energy one of the coal companies bankrupted in the last year...
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SunPower is planning to start construction on a 10-megawatt (DC) photovoltaic solar power plant this month.

The PV solar power plant is expected to generate up to 18,000 megawatt hours per year for the Redstone Arsenal U.S. Army post in Alabama.

SunPower is delivering the energy from the plant under a power purchase agreement, allowing the Army to buy 100 percent of the power generated by the plant and avoid the costs of power plant construction, maintenance and operation.

Howard Wenger, president, business units at SunPower, said: “We commend Redstone Arsenal for managing its significant energy demand by relying on abundant, renewable solar power. The SunPower technology we are installing for the agency will maximize energy production over the long term.”

The first power purchase agreement project solicited through a renewable and alternative energy Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC) awarded by Huntsville Center will involve a 27-year Renewable Energy Services Agreement. SunPower has designed the project, and will construct, operate and maintain it.

Under the power purchase agreement, SunPower will deliver approximately 18,000 megawatt hours of electricity to the Army annually. All electricity generated by the plant will be purchased at a cost equal to or less than Redstone Arsenal’s current and projected utility rates.

The solar system will be designed as micro-grid ready in order to connect to a future micro-grid and contribute to the energy security of the installation.

SunPower said the Oasis Power Plant technology includes robotic solar panel cleaning capability that uses 75 percent less water than traditional cleaning methods and can improve system performance by up to 15 percent.

SunPower calculates the annual output from the power plant will be equal to the electricity needed to power approximately 5,400 electric vehicles.

The U.S. Army has a goal to derive 25 percent of total energy consumed from renewable sources by 2025, as well as a commitment to deploy one gigawatt of renewable energy on Army installations by 2025.

SunPower has installed more than 100 megawatts of solar power at 33 federal government project sites, including some of the largest operating solar power plants on U.S. military installations. Operational projects include more than 28 megawatts at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada and 13.78 megawatts at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in California.

A new world! Solar/wind powered Norway???
Norway mulls ‘banning’ petrol & diesel cars by 2025
https://www.rt.com/news/345455-norway-ban-petrol-diesel-cars/
Tesla heaven? Norway mulls ‘banning’ petrol & diesel cars by 2025, Elon Musk delighted

Just heard that Norway will ban new sales of fuel cars in 2025. What an amazingly awesome country. You guys rock!! pic.twitter.com/uAXuBkDYuR

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 3, 2016

Norwegian MPs have reportedly agreed to ban or at least significantly reduce the sales of all cars run on fossil fuel after 2025. The report was welcomed with enthusiasm by the proponents of electric vehicles, including tech mogul Elon Musk of Tesla Motors.

The news broke following interparty discussion of the national transport plan eyeing only zero emission vehicles to be sold within 10 years.

Norwegian Liberal Party MP Ola Elverstuen told local outlet Dagens Naeringsliv that his fellow MPs and those of the Progress Party, the Christian Democrats and the Conservative Party have reached a groundbreaking decision to meet the goals. Those have been outlined in the ambitious national transport plan 2018-2029 which stipulates gradually banning all types of vehicles that harm the environment such as fuel-powered cars, vans, busies and heavy vehicles.
“Now it’s no longer just a message about energy, but the message about climate,” Elverstuen said.

Øyvind Korsberg, an MP for the Progress Party, went even further in his estimates of how far-reaching the consequences of the plan would be.

“After 2025 new private cars, buses and light commercial vehicles will be zero-emission vehicles. By 2030, new heavier vans, 75 percent of new long-distance buses, 50 percent of new trucks will be zero emission vehicles,” he said, referring to the targets stated in the white paper on the energy policy mapped by the Norway’s Petroleum and Energy Ministry in April. The paper requires formal approval if it is to be converted into an official policy.

READ MORE: The future of transport? From China’s traffic-busting ‘uber-bus’ to flying cars (VIDEOS)

The plan’s implementation is closely connected to offering financial stimuli for potential electric car buyers for them to get rid of the petroleum-powered vehicles.

“People should be confident that it will be significantly cheaper with a zero emissions car than with a traditional car,” Elverstuen said.

However, the Conservative Party on Thursday issued a statement downplaying the report and calling it “misleading,” as cited by ABC Nyheter.

“There is no issue of banning the sale of diesel and gasoline vehicles in 2025, although someone could have got this impression from Dagens Naeringsliv,” said Tina Bru, Conservative party MP and a member of the Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment. She added that the discussion focused on determining the maximum number of low and zero-emissions vehicles that “we need on Norwegian roads in 2025 to reach climate goals.”
A conflicting report by Aftenposten then cited Liberal Party communications advisor Audun Rødningsby, saying that he fully confirmed the accuracy of the claims. This is despite Conservative and Progress Party sources telling the paper that the plan was still being discussed.

Meanwhile, Tesla Motors, Inc. CEO Elon Musk, hurried to hail the news on Twitter, calling Norway “an amazingly awesome country.”

For Tesla, the world’s leading manufacturer of electric cars, Norway is one of the most attractive markets, with the country being at the forefront of introducing environment-friendly technology into the life of its citizens.

In February, Norwegian Petroleum and Energy Minister Tord Lien asked the company to participate in working on a more efficient energy system for the country in return for its steady support of Tesla’s products.

“Norway has always been important for Tesla, and I think it is only fair if the company also gives something in return,” Lien told E24 as cited by The Nordic Page.