Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)

A Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) is an agreement between a homeowner/building owner and Solar City, where Solar City covers the full cost of installing and maintaining a solar system. In return, the host customer agrees to buy the power produced by the system. This allows building owners to pay as they go, rather than in one large upfront payment.

On/Off Grid System

A solar energy system that is interconnected with the utility grid is said to be an on-grid or grid-tied system, while a system with battery storage is not interconnected and is described as an off-grid system.

What is Inverter

A device that converts DC power captured by the photovoltaic cells on solar panels into AC power that can be used to power your home or business. This device is an integral part of a solar system. Large solar systems may have more than one inverter.

What are Greenhouse Gases

Gaseous components in the atmosphere that contribute to a gradual warming of the planet. The most prevalent of these gases is carbon dioxide, which is released in large quantities when fossil fuels are burned. Nothing is burned to convert sunlight into power. Since solar energy does not have any gaseous by-products, it is considered "clean."

What is DC Power

An electrical current whose magnitude and direction stay constant. The photovoltaic cells on solar panels capture energy from sunlight in the form of DC. In order to power your home or business, this current must be converted to AC by an inverter.

What is AC Power

An electrical current whose magnitude and direction varies continuously and sinusoidally. AC is the form in which electricity is delivered to businesses and residences. It can be thought of as "standard" electrical power.

What is a a Battery ?

Two or more electrochemical cells enclosed in a container and electrically interconnected in an appropriate series/parallel arrangement to provide the required operating voltage and current levels. Under common usage, the term battery also applies to a single cell if it constitutes the entire electrochemical storage system.

Africa's Solar ability

Which country boasts the world's fastest growing clean energy investment? Germany? No. United States? Think again.

Jumping from a few hundred million dollars to $5.7 billion, South Africa recorded last year the world's highest growth in renewable energy investment, according to the (UNEP).

The spectacular surge, led largely by investments in solar power projects, comes as South Africa moves to reduce its dependency on coal, that's around 86  of total energy. To achieve that, the country has set the advaned target of generating 18 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy by 2030.

As a result, a series of investments have trickled into the country, including Google's first foray into Africa's solar power market. The internet giant, which has spent more than $1 billion in renewable energy programs in the United States and Europe in recent years, announced in late May its decision to back the JPP (Jasper Power Project) a 96 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Northern Cape, with a $12 million investment.

Pakistan has potential in Solar Energy sector

Secretary General Renewable Energy Association of Pakistan Iftikhar Qaisrani has said Pakistan has 2.9 million megawatt of solar energy potential besides photovoltaic opportunity. Talking to Radio Pakistan, Iftikhar Qaisrani said that Pakistan is among a few fortunate countries that have a lot of potential of alterative and renewable energy production.  Pakistan has well-defined wind energy corridors which are about 340 thousand megawatt. Pakistan also has the natural resources of bio-fuel and cogeneration.
Iftikhar Qaisrani expressed hope that the government of Nawaz Sharif will capitalize on the renewable energy resources.He opined that Pakistan will be in a position to export energy besides meeting its own needs after utilizing these vast opportunities of alternative energy resources.

What is Failment

A coil of tungsten wire suspended in a vacuum or inert gas-filled bulb. When electricity flows thru the tungsten "filament" it radiates energy in the form of heat and light. This is the basic operation of inefficient incandescent lamps.

What is Electron

An elementary particle of an atom with a negative electrical charge and a mass of 1/1837 of a proton. Electrons surround the positively charged protons in the nucleus of an atom and the number of electrons determine the atomic element. Elements that loose electrons easily make good conductors and elements whose electrons are tightly bound together make good insulators. It is this movement of electrons which is the electric current in circuits.

SolarTech Expo Japan

SolarTech Expo Japan 2013, a strictly B2B conference and exhibition will be held in Tokyo city on 28-29 October 2013. Located in the networking area exhibition will hold 25 exhibition stands where leading solar energy technology companies will showcase their technologies and solutions for the industry.

China's Govt Tax reliefs to solar industries

Chinese ministry of finance announced it will offer tax breaks to manufacturers of solar power products on Sunday, as China moves to support an industry still struggling to deal with massive overcapacity and weak demand. The ministry said in a short statement on its website that producers of solar power products will receive immediate refunds of 50 percent of value-added taxes.

The National Development and Reform Commission provided subsidies for solar power stations in late August.

"China's bloated photovoltaic industry still faces a grim outlook as many companies are deeply mired in debts," said a report on the official Xinhua news service discussing the announcement.

It cited data from the China Renewable Energy Society saying that the country's top 10 solar panel makers are up to 100 billion yuan ($16.34 billion) in debt, with a debt to asset ratio above 70 percent on average.

Beijing has said it wants to consolidate the industry, but the sector continues to enjoy protection at the central and local level; the latter is particularly strong because solar power companies are frequently major employers.

China's LDK Solar Co Ltd partly defaulted on a bond payment in April, then failed to meet another payment on time in August.

China's Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd said Chief Executive David King had resigned from the company in mid September, weeks after three directors left amid the solar panel maker's efforts to restructure its debt.

Suntech's Chinese lenders dragged its unit Wuxi Suntech into insolvency proceedings after it defaulted on $541 million in bonds after the business was hit by a glut in solar panels.

Largest Solar Power Plant

The largest solar power plant in the world is expected to be completed by the end of 2012 and officially open in the first quarter of 2013, solar power giant Masdar has announced. Shams 1 will have a generation capacity of over 100 MW of power, and was designed with the stated purpose of providing 20,000 homes in the region with electricity. The project will be followed shortly thereafter by Shams 2 & 3, which are planned to generate similar levels of electricity.