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I don't know if this has anything to do with Natcore but type in Natcore telecom and punch images. There does not seem to be any companies under that logo.
I believe Buddy Green is a pseudonym for Charles Provini. See the photo on Facebook.
Solar: Too Toxic To Grow.
by Buddy Green on Tuesday, November 8, 2011 at 9:12am
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The solar industry, since its inception, has touted creation of a safe, renewal energy solution allowing the world to stop its dependence on consumable resources such as natural gas, oil and coal; however, the end goal is only reached by first hurdling through a noxious and energy consuming manufacturing process. Little, to no, focus is placed on this problem nor do people realize a genuine resolution is in sight.
Volatile, hazardous gases and chemicals are an integral part of the solar cell fabrication process utilizing the storage of gases such as silane and ammonia. Silane is an extremely flammable chemical compound, which losses stability when exposed to air and is listed as a HazMat 2.1, with 4 being the most dangerous. Tanks of silane have to be stored and transported to solar cell manufacturing facilities. The real danger of silane gas not its ability to spontaneous combust, but the first explosion and flames won’t occur at the source of the leak. Picture this: you are working quietly at your desk, 500 feet away from a tank of silane gas. The tank’s valve loosens and begins quietly leaking gas. The next thing you know you and your desk spontaneously ignite in a ball of flames, while the source of the fire sits untouched and unharmed. Can you imagine having to store a chemical compound that creates a fire anywhere?
Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) is the step in production that requires conversion of noxious gases into an antireflective coating on wafers. A thermal vacuum furnace, running at temperatures of 1,800° F, drawing a tremendous amount of electricity at a dangerously high voltage, is used for the CVD process. So currently in order to conserve oil by using an alternative source like the sun to generate power, it’s necessary to first go through a toxic manufacturing process that uses precious and consumable resources.
There is a bright spot and a gleam of hope in the middle of this ironic picture. Natcore Technology is an R & D company using advancements in nanotechnology research in order to change how the solar industry manufacturers solar cells. They have devised a way to replace the CVD step in the manufacturing process with a Liquid Phase Deposition (LPD) process automated through its custom designed wet bench called AR-Box™. This process uses non-toxic, off-the-shelf chemicals in a water based bath at room-temperatures and pressures. Liquid Phase Deposition has benefits on a multitude of levels.
First, any waste that is created during the LPD process can be mixed with water and poured safely down an industrial-grade drainage system. This means Natcore’s waste doesn’t even have a HazMat rating because it is considered completely non-toxic.
Second, Natcore is optimizing a way to recycle 100% of its chemical mixture thus eliminating all waste, as well as the need for large quantities of water.
Thirdly, the current waste byproduct can be used to make calcium carbonate which is a main ingredient in cement manufacturing. If the waste that is generated is used in this fashion it would also go to helping an additional industry. In many ways, this is the best form of recycling and aiding in the protection of our planet and its resources.
Lastly – POWER. Those thermal vacuum furnaces draw 92 kilowatts per hour which can manufacture 1,500 solar cells. Natcore’s AR Box™ equivalent draws only 20 kilowatts per hour, reducing the energy usage by 80 percent. For just one, full-scale 150 MW production facility you would use three furnaces in that facility. Natcore’s AR-Box would save 1.7 gigawatts of power over the course of a year. In the United States that would represent an annual cost reduction of $172,800 or in Italy, where electricity is more expensive, it would represent $1.8 million in savings.
Something else to consider, that silane gas we talked about earlier, in addition to it being dangerous and noxious, 70% of it is actually wasted and put back into the atmosphere.
All this helps reduce the cost in solar manufacturing so that some day it will be feasible to be on everyone’s home.
How is this all possible? Well Natcore has spent millions of dollars and several years developing technology that will double the efficiency with a tandem solar cell and cut manufacturing cost in half with the creation of a roll-to-roll flexible solar cell. All the other ecological advantages and cost savings are just an added benefit of their unique technology.
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Thanks for all the work you do for the shareholders.
Great post Nashville.
I believe that Brian Scoles writes articles for Earth Island Journal which is an environmental mag. I like to think that Natcore, with its clean energy product, is on the radar of the environmental movement. China can't keep on with it's "Business as usual" policy.
Why we Need a Stiff Tax on Chinese Solar Goodsby Brian Scoles – October 24, 2011
A Clear Benefit Would be to Stem the Flow of Cheap Chinese Panels that Lead to Devastating Pollution The blogosphere is abuzz with news of struggle in the US solar industry. Last week, Solarworld, the largest manufacturer of conventional solar panels in the United States, submitted a petition for a tariff of more than 100 percent on solar panels imported from China. Six other panel makers signed the petition as well, but those companies have preferred to remain anonymous. The petition alleges that Chinese companies receive government subsidies that are “illegal” under World Trade Organization rules, and are “dumping” panels on the U.S. market at price points too low to compete with. Panels can now be bought wholesale for as little as $1.20 per watt, down from $3.30 in 2008.
Photo by Flickr user Living Off Grid
Chinese companies can pay their factory workers a pittance, and expose
them to conditions that would be illegal elsewhere in the developed world.
A heavy tax on Chinese panels would make American companies and individuals more likely to purchase domestically-made panels, and give American manufacturers a much-needed boost in sales.
While the solar industry has enjoyed rapid growth in the last few years, a changing market both domestically and internationally is leading to leaner times. Solar company stock prices have dropped heavily in the last few weeks, and the industry is still reeling from the August bankruptcies of three solar companies including the high-profile panel maker Solyndra, which had received $528 in federal loan guarantees. Solyndra folded after a precipitous drop in orders for its products, which was caused both by the glut of cheap imported panels and by the sunset of some incentives for solar installation.
China, by contrast, is investing more and more in the clean-energy sector. It currently accounts for up to two thirds of global solar panel production, and exports about 95 percent of its panels to foreign markets. China has indicated plans to install more solar panels domestically, but for now, the panels are mostly seen as a profitable export product. Government subsidies, and consistently pro-industry legislation, help Chinese companies achieve lower price points than other manufacturers overseas.
Relative to China and many developed European countries, subsidies and industry support for solar companies are lacking in the United States. Federal and state incentives are beginning to tail off, and some solar businesses are finding it beneficial to relocate. The New-Jersey based Natcore recently announced that its newest research venture will be based in Italy, where the company found better collaboration among solar companies. Italy, which is similar in size to California, installed more solar panels in 2009 than the entire United States.
To make matters worse, the American solar industry is divided on the issue of imported Chinese panels. Manufacturers such as Solarworld and Solyndra have protested that the abundance of cheap Chinese panels greatly reduces market demand for their own products. But solar development and installation companies, which buy panels from the market rather than selling their own, are more amenable to the low prices.
Arno Harris, CEO of solar developer Recurrent Energy, said the petition to impose a tariff on Chinese panels would “stop growth,” and Julie Blunden, VP of external affairs at SunPower, called the petition an “unfortunate distraction.” American environmental groups remain divided, and mostly silent, in this debate. Some advocate for the development of a strong American clean energy industry, which implies supporting a tariff, while others call for installing as many panels as possible, no matter where they come from. But it remains an important question: how can the Chinese sell their panels so cheaply? I’ll give you a hint: it’s not pretty.
The real savings come through externalization. Chinese companies can pay their factory workers a pittance, and expose them to conditions that would be illegal elsewhere in the developed world. The social and healthcare costs of these conditions are not considered in the company’s accounting. Also, China’s near-total lack of environmental protection measures opens the door to cost-cutting measures that are, frankly, the stuff of nightmares. This report from the Henan Province, near the Yangtze river, tells of truckloads of highly toxic silicon tetrachloride dumped every day onto the ground outside a factory’s gates. “The land where you dump or bury it will be infertile. No grass or trees will grow in the place. . . . It is like dynamite — it is poisonous, it is polluting. Human beings can never touch it,” says Ren Bingyan, a professor at the School of Material Sciences at Hebei Industrial University. Villagers nearby have noticed crops wilting under a fine white powder, and rock-like deposits are aggregating in kettles used for boiling tap water.
Silicon tetrachloride is a byproduct of making polysilicon, a key component in conventional solar panels. In European and American polysilicon plants, this byproduct is recycled back into the manufacturing process. But recycling silicon tetracholoride is energy-intensive and expensive. Chinese companies have found it cheaper to simply dump the stuff. This follows a long precedent of lax regulation and disregard for the ill effects of industrialization. In September, large protests outside a factory of the Zhejiang JinkoSolar Company in the city of Haining forced the plant to close. Cars were overturned, offices were ransacked, and 23 were arrested in protests that blamed the panel factory for toxic emissions into the air and water, leading to large numbers of dead fish and unusually high rates of cancer deaths in the area.
As long as there is demand for cheap solar panels, there will be more of these environmental and social scandals. Regardless of the complex economic arguments surrounding tariffs, a clear benefit of a heavy import tax would be to stem the flow of cheap Chinese panels that lead to devastating pollution.
If we want to make any sort of valid claim about solar being “clean energy,” we have to begin with good attention to where the panels come from, and what social and environmental impacts accompany their production.
Brian Scoles, Intern, Earth Island Journal
When not writing for the Journal, Brian pursues all sorts of interests not at all related to his degree. He is passionate about intentional community living, wilderness exploration and leadership, and most recently, activism. He also works with Applied Mindfulness and is a contributor at Sustainablog.
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Under applications on Natcore's website, they mention air & water quality monitoring. This video shows what the researchers are doing at Rice Univershttp://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episode/the-nano-revolution-will-nano-save-the-planet.htmlity. Its a long video but interesting.
I think I read something about Natecore helping the poor in Tibet and it was going to be put on Facebook. I wonder if the following article has any thing to do with it.
LHASA Xinhua — Southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region is poised to become the country’s leading solar power generation base with 10 more photovoltaic power plants to be completed within this year.
The new plants, with a total investment of 2 billion yuan 308 million U.S. dollars and a combined 100-megawatt capacity, will take advantage of Tibet’s ample solar energy resources to ease the plateau region’s power shortages, said Wang Haijiang, a noted researcher on Tibet’s energy development.
Construction of most of the new plants has begun, including a 30-megawatt solar photovoltaic generation plant in Xigaze Prefecture, about 3 km northwest of Tibet’s second largest city Xigaze.
Upon its completion this month, the plant will generate up to 20.23 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, said Wang.
Meanwhile, a 10-megawatt solar photovoltaic generation plant is being built in Yangbajing, a town 90 km northwest of the regional capital Lhasa, with a designed power generation capacity of 430 million kwh during its 25-year life span.
Photovoltaic is a method of generating electric power by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity by using semiconductors.
Tibet has abundant solar energy resources, with an average 3,000 hours of solar radiation annually, or about 6,000 to 8,000 megajoules per square meter.
Over the past 60 years, Tibet has stepped up exploitation of its clean energy resources hoping to protect the plateau ecology while seeking economic growth, said Wang.
It began using solar energy in the 1980s.
Today, the region’s installed 9-megawatt solar photovoltaic generation system accounts for 13 percent of China’s total.
Solar energy is now widely used by Tibetan families: with nearly 400,000 solar stoves installed in Tibetan kitchens, 10,000 square meters of homes being heated by solar energy and 200,000 households relying on solar energy for lighting.
Housewife Chogyal in Zada County of Ngari Prefecture said her family relied on solar energy for powering most of the household’s appliances and electric facilities. "On top of it, we don’t have to pay a cent for solar generated electricity."
Tibet’s regional government estimated solar power helped save at least 162,800 tonnes of coal equivalent last year.
China’s total domestic demand for solar photovoltaic energy was around 500,000 kilowatts a year, according to the National Energy Administration NEA , the country’s top energy planner.
China plans to expand the solar PV energy market gradually: to about 5 million kilowatts installation capacity in 2015 and 20 million kilowatts in 2020, according to the NEA.
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nything to do with it.
It looks like Natcore will be an exibitor at the New Orleans 2011 Investment Conference Oct 26-29
Job Summary
Company
Natcore Technology, Inc.?
Location
Somerset, NJ 07701
Industries
Business Services - Other
Job Type
Full Time
Employee
Years of Experience
2+? to 5 Years
Education Level
Master's Degree
Career Level
Experienced (Non-Manager) Chemical Engineer
About the Job
Chemical Engineer
Natcore Technology is an alternative energy research firm that was incorporated in 2004 and went public in 2008. Currently the company has offices and laboratories in Ohio, Texas, New York, New Jersey, with other locations soon to be in Milan, Italy and China.
Natcore is looking for a Chemical Engineer to:
· Apply the principles of chemistry to solve problems involving the production or use of chemicals and other products.
· Design equipment and processes for commercial manufacturing, plan and test methods of manufacturing products and treating byproducts, and supervise production.
· Apply principles of physics, mathematics, and mechanical and electrical engineering, as well as chemistry to the design and manufacturing of liquid phase deposition systems for putting thin films of dielectric and other materials on various substrates, including silicon wafers and silicon solar cells.
· Assure that chemical handling, hardware manufacturing and the manufacturing process affects the environment and the safety of workers and customers alike.
· Specific initial focus: development and manufacturing of a commercial liquid phase deposition (LPD) system for use in the solar cell manufacturing industry.
Job Tasks:
· Develop safety procedures to be employed by workers operating equipment or working in close proximity to on-going chemical reactions.
· Determine most effective arrangement of operations, such as mixing, crushing, heat transfer, distillation, and drying.
· Prepare estimate of production costs and production progress reports for management.
· Direct activities of workers engaged in operating, constructing and improving chemical processing equipment.
· Perform laboratory studies of steps in manufacture of new product and test proposed process in small scale operation (pilot plant).
· Develop processes to separate components of liquids or gases or generate electrical currents, using controlled chemical processes.
· Conduct research to develop new and improved chemical manufacturing processes.
· Design measurement and control systems for chemical plants based on data collected in laboratory experiments and in pilot plant operations.
· Design and plan layout of equipment.
· Perform tests throughout stages of production to determine degree of control over variables.
Knowledge Requirements:
· Engineering and Technology -- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
· Chemistry -- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
· Mathematics -- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
· Physics -- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.
· Production and Processing -- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Educational Requirements:
· Master’s degree or higher in chemical engineering and 3+ years experience
Or
· Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering plus 5+ years experience.
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This might be something to think about. In the article it say "It's an investor's dream," Konrad Imielinski, remarked on the website Seeking Alpha, which publishes stock market opinion and analysis. " Ihave been following the mysterious Manchester Inc. for quite a while now and the brilliancy of its performance is dumfounding." The stock seems too good to be true. May 15th was the last day prices had a negative downtick. The daily pattern in which this stock continues to progress is shocking; it moves in penny-like increments" John Woods, editor of Vancouver based Canada Stockwatch, took on look at the chart and said, "There is no contest between buyers and sellers here. Somebody appers to be fooling with Mother Nature." Woods said he had never seen anything like it before, whis quite a satement from somebody who has been flowwing junior stacks for 39 years.
I admit it sounds good but this is what David Baines had to say. High-interest loans to high-risk borowers is a popular theme in penny stock promotions. The business model has appeal because it promises high rates of return but the less appealing fact is that high risk borrowers usually have high rates of default. Earlier this year, the BC securities Commission issued a cease-trade order against Insta-Cash Loans in Nanaimo, which used the same business model but suffered a heavy default rate and dissolved in a ponzi scheme.
I wish I could back it up. All I can say is the article was in this morning's newspaper. If I could cut and paste I would.
All I'm saying is be forewarned. If you've made a profit GET OUT.
Your not working as a promoter for Manchester are you?
Personally I don't care what you think. I'm just fed up with all the scammers out there. I've been burned a few times myself. The article is to long to to write on this site, but I'll give you a few tidbits.
Under the proposal, Manchester will issue so many shares that the owners of PAACO Group will emerge as the controlling shareholder. (This is called a reverse merger.) The company also says it has established credit lines totalling $375 million US to finance the acquisition and operation of a nationwide chain of Buy Here/Pay-Here outlets. But nearly 2 years have passed, and not a single outlet has been aquired. As of May 31, the company still had no revenues and total assets were just $600,240 US. The Stock is being touted around Vancouver. This week, one of my hockey buddies said he was being pressed to buy it. But if it follows the usual pattern, the main target wil be Americans and they will almost certainly be burned by this Vancouver-made weapon of financial destruction.
It looks like this stock is another stock scam. There is an article by David Baines,Vancouver Sun newspaper reporter in the paper today. I can't show you the article but if you go to google and put in David Baines - Vancouver Sun you can see the headline.
Thanks for the info.
Frank, can you help me out?
Superior Galleries is 57% owned by Stanford Financial Group. I believe they used to be AAC's customer. Superior is having an auction Aug 12th but it's not on AAC's roster. If you go to the the Stanford Financial Group site and punch in real estate development, Stanford Development Corp. comes up. Doesn't AAC own that? It seems to be smoke and mirrors everywhere you turn.
I guess your right. I'll do some checking on property in the area.
Looks like AAC payed plenty for the properties. Assessed value as of July 1, 2005 at 20514 80th Ave, land 740,000, buildings 55,900. Property at 20542 80th Ave, land 740,000, buildings 128,000. Now I know property values have gone up alot in BC in the last year, but I don't believe they have gone up over 75%.
On the Title Check auction today about 25,000 was internet. Not alot, but the next auction tomorrow has 287 properties. On the Title Check web site they have auctions going to Sept., so hopefully AAC will be doing all of them. If anyone wants some cheap property check it out.
The Title Check auction went very well today. There were lots of internet bids. They sold at least 30,000 through the internet for a relatively small auction. The one tomorrow has 101 properties. If AAC can keep this customer, it could prove to be very lucrative. I can't figure out why it's not on the Icollector web site.