Solar Panels for Beginners: What You Must Know

Solar power is quickly becoming one of the most popular forms of renewable sources of energy. It’s a fantastic way to conserve the earth’s natural resources, but also provides one of the cleanest, most effective forms of energy available today. For those that are not familiar with this type of energy, you need to get a little information on solar panels for beginners, so that you know the important aspects, terminology, and a little bit of the science behind it all.

School builds green future with solar panels

PUPILS took a green leap into the future when solar panels were installed at their school – thanks to a project launched by a parent.

Edward Feild School in Kidlington has installed 22 panels in time for the new school term.

The project, brainchild of parent Alan Asbury, will save the school £350 a year in fuel costs and teach youngsters about renewable energy.

Dad-of-two Mr Asbury raised the idea with staff and governors two years ago and then helped raise the £23,000 needed.

He said: “The new solar panels will hopefully raise awareness of the need for and obvious benefits of renewable energy.”

The panels will provide 3,500 kWh, roughly the annual electricity of an average household.

Pupils will be shown data explaining how much energy, cash and carbon has been saved.

School business manager Caroline Murray said: “Now the children can see the panels, they are very intrigued.

“They will be able to learn about them in their science lessons and the meter readings mean they can make graphs or monitor how the sun changes throughout the year.

“We’re very excited about the scope of this new equipment.”

The project was funded by the Government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change, and Barclaycard Pure.

Year Five pupil Fraser Day, nine, said: “It’s really cool to know that our idea has been put into action.

“We’re saving the school quite a lot of energy. We were going to have a wind turbine but we decided that it wouldn’t save as much money and they were too big.”

Erin Comess, also nine, said: “It’s really cool because we are saving energy and we can also sell the energy when we don’t need to use it.”

Headteacher Cathryne Wilkes said: “I’d like to thank Alan for his hard work and determination in seeing the project through to completion.”

Oxfordshire County Council is working with schools to cut CO2 emissions, currently about 36,000 tonnes a year.

Ian Hudspeth, cabinet member for growth and infrastructure, said: “This is a great example of the innovative ideas and hard work many of our schools are putting in to become more energy efficient and meet the environmental challenges of the future.”

IREC Announces Solar Licensing Database

In the database, licensing requirements for installing photovoltaic and solar thermal systems are documented for each state. These are organized alphabetically. Today, only 14 states have established specific solar license classifications, usually sub-classifications of electrical or plumbing licenses, and often specifically defined to limit the scope of work to direct solar installations and maintenance tasks. For additional information, resource links to state-specific websites and documents are included. IREC will update the database to keep pace with those changes as they become available.

“As licensing requirements emerge and change in individual states, IREC felt that it could contribute by providing this resource of existing requirements that can be used as a reference tool,” said IREC’s Director of Operations, Pat Fox.

“IREC is broadly recognized as a unique resource and conduit for change in the renewable energy arena. This database is just one of many IREC resources it offers free of charge to the public,” said Fox.

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) is a non-profit organization accelerating the use of renewable energy since 1982. IREC' s programs and policies lead to easier, more affordable connection to the utility grid; fair credit for renewable energy produced; best practices for states, municipalities, utilities and industry; and quality assessment for the growing green workforce through the credentialing of trainers and training programs.

First Solar Powered Car

Think back in time before automobiles came into the picture, one notable fact that you would observe would be the total lack of pollution, noise pollution, unhealthy emissions from the cars and no gasoline. It’s not that people didn’t travel, they did – but what they used was horsepower.
Now let’s think into the future, some basic similarities again, automobiles are in the picture but without the pollution, noise pollution etc. And again no gasoline! You would wonder how that is possible: Cars but no Gasoline? What would they run on? Well how about sunlight!
Solar power is something that is going to come up in a big way. There are many research projects about harnessing the sun’s energy and utilizing it for the betterment of mankind. So there might just be a future where transportation would not require any gasoline, it would be low cost and environmental friendly.
Work is already in progress to make this dream a reality. A team of fourth-year engineering students along with their professor, in Beruit, has been successful in building the first solar-powered vehicle in the Arab region. The American University of Beirut issued a statement in this regard. The vehicle has been aptly named Apollo’s Chariot. Apollo being the Greek God of the Sun as mentioned in mythology. This solar-powered vehicle is made entirely of steel and fiberglass and measures five-and-a-half meters in length and two meters in width. It’s a single seater and weighs about 700 kilograms, almost half the weight of an average sedan.
The Team of Elie Maalouf, Amin Kanafani, Ahamed Hammoud and Rawad al-Jurdi under the guidance of Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Daniel Asmar worked unceasingly for nine months to give shape to the “Chariot”.
This futuristic-looking vehicle with an aerodynamic design smoothly glides over the road with a total lack of noise and pollution. Eli Maalouf demonstrated the workings of the “Chariot” on Campus and impressed everyone with its effortless maneuvering. “Apollo’s Chariot “during the demo, moved forward, backward, along a curb and then up a small hill without any hitch.
Professor Daniel Amin in praise of this creation said that, “It looks like a rocket but moves like a swan,” “We actually built a car that runs on a new kind of energy. It’s almost like magic!”
Ellie said that the longest trip that he has ever made with the Chariot till now was, 50 meters and that he hopes that ” in the near future, I will be able to drive an improved version of this car, everyday ““ to university, to work, to go out with my friends.”
Professor Asmar purports that these solar-powered vehicles are important for research purposes for the time being and are yet still years from becoming available commercially. It would cost around a million dollars at present to build one that could be safely driven on streets.
“I’m ecstatic,” said Asmar. “This is a dream come true for me that would not have been “possible without our sponsors.”
To build Apollo’s Chariot a sum of $ 25,000, was raised through several local and foreign sponsors like Power Tech, a Lebanese co., Voluntariato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo (VIS), A volunteer Italian association for development, Italian Cooperation, Byblos Bank, Bank of Beirut and Arab Countries (BAAC), Bridgestone tires and the AUB Department of Mechanical Engineering to name a few.
The car converts solar energy into 1000 watts of power with the help of 36 small and 8 large photovoltaic cells. The car includes components like cells and batteries, for capturing and storing solar energy, and a DC (direct current) motor for converting energy from the batteries into a uniform source of energy. A maximum power point tracker device is also used to maximize the amount of power delivered from the cells.
A 3,000- kilometer race by solar electric cars is held in Australia with the purpose of promoting research on solar energy. It is known as The World Solar Challenge and was launched in 1987. The next race is to be held in 2009. The team aims to keep on improving Apollo’s Chariot so that they are able to represent Lebanon and AUB at the Next World Solar Challenge

How to build the solar cell

The first step is to cut a piece of the copper sheeting that is about the size of the burner on the stove. Wash your hands so they don't have any grease or oil on them. Then wash the copper sheet with soap or cleanser to get any oil or grease off of it. Use the sandpaper or wire brush to thoroughly clean the copper sheeting, so that any sulphide or other light corrosion is removed.

Next, place the cleaned and dried copper sheet on the burner and turn the burner to its highest setting.

As the copper starts to heat up, you will see beautiful oxidation patterns begin to form. Oranges, purples, and reds will cover the copper.

As the copper gets hotter, the colors are replaced with a black coating of cupric oxide. This is not the oxide we want, but it will flake off later, showing the reds, oranges, pinks, and purples of the cuprous oxide layer underneath.

The last bits of color disappear as the burner starts to glow red.

When the burner is glowing red-hot, the sheet of copper will be coated with a black cupric oxide coat. Let it cook for a half an hour, so the black coating will be thick. This is important, since a thick coating will flake off nicely, while a thin coat will stay stuck to the copper.

The World’s Largest Rooftop Solar Installation 12 Megawatts of Power

Solar power is being increasingly used all over the world as a source of clean, renewable energy. In an effort to increase its renewable energy resources, General Motors has recently made it known that the biggest rooftop solar photovoltaic power installation will be set up on its Zaragoza automobile assembly plant.
This plant, in Figueruelas, Zaragoza, Spain, will have approximately 85,000 solar panels, covering a rooftop area of around 2,000,000 square feet. General Motors estimates that the set up will be complete by the autumn of this year, and will generate something like 15.1 million kWh of power a year. That’s about how much 4,575 Spanish homes with an average yearly consumption of 3,300 kWh will use.
Glad to take the lead in using renewable energy, the Group Vice President of Global Manufacturing and Labor Relations, General Motors, Gary Cowger said, “The Zaragoza project demonstrates proof that GM is actively accelerating our efforts to be part of the solution to the environmental issues and challenges facing our world. We are proud to be a global leader in the usage of renewable energy.”
At present, the General Motors Company already has two of the biggest rooftop solar power installations in the United States of America. Both these installations are in California ““ one in their parts warehouse in Rancho Cucumonga and another in their parts warehouse in Fontana. The Rancho Cucumonga installation was set up in the autumn of 2006 and was the first public solar project over one mega watt in the country. Here, about half the power requirements of the parts warehouse is met by solar energy. The Fontana installation was set up in December 2007 and offers an annual output of approximately 1.3 million kilowatt hours of electricity ““ that’s about how much power 200 homes will consume in a year.
The General Motors Vice President for Environment, Energy and Safety Policy, Elizabeth A. Lowery explains GM’s stance. “As we develop new solutions in vehicle propulsion to reduce carbon emissions, we are also making significant progress in reducing the impact our facilities have on the environment. Our commitment to expanding the usage of renewable energy sources is part of our coordinated global effort to reduce energy, water consumption, waste and CO2 emissions,” she says.
As far as the Spanish Zaragoza installation is concerned, General Motors is working in collaboration with the Government of Aragon, Clairvoyant Energy and Veolia Environmental to expand their consumption of renewable energy. The thin film flexible solar laminates required for the installation will be UNI-SOLAR(R: 70.08, +2.97, +4.42%), manufactured by United Solar Ovonic. The installation will be created, owned and operated by Veolia Environment and Clairvoyant Energy, who will lease the rooftop area from General Motors. Not only will the Zaragoza rooftop solar power installation cut costs for General Motors, it will also ease the power burden on the local power grid.
David Hardee, the CEO of Clairvoyant Energy is pleased with the project and its implications. “Clairvoyant Energy is delighted to be working with GM as we share their vision of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Our company goal is to create a variety of solar electricity solutions as compared to fossil fuel electricity processes by 2014 and the way to get there is through lower costs and higher efficiency.”
Global industry leader in a world leader in environmental services, Veolia Environment will be involved in the engineering, construction, approval and system operations maintenance of the installation.
General Motors is certainly thinking green. The company is also one of the major consumers of landfill gas in America. This gas, which is produced as waste decomposes, is used by GM at their assembly plants in Fort Wayne, Shreveport and Orion and three other facilities, saving a quantity of energy equal to the annual energy needed to heat 25,000 households. GM gets an annual saving of over $5 million with their landfill gas set up.
General Motors with an NYSE standing of 10.78, +0.54, +5.27% has been a world leader in auto sales for nearly 80 years. The company was started in 1908 and now has a 266,000 strong team. Last year, GM sold almost 9.37 million Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling cars. OnStar, GM’s subsidiary, are experts in vehicle safety, security and information services.

SolarCity Provides San Francisco Electricity at Less than Grid Price

Lyndon Rive is the chief executive officer of SolarCity, a startup that leases solar panels to property owners. He encourages San Francisco residents to consider and take definitive action on going for solar energy.
Solar energy became a viable proposition in the city, even for those with less financial clout, due to incentive schemes launched by the authorities in July..
The incentive program for San Francisco extends monetary support, to be utilized for the installation of solar panels, ranging from $3000 to $6,000 to property owners, $10,000 to businesses and non-profit organizations and $30,000 to non-profit entities which provide low cost housing. The program is scheduled to stay in effect for a decade.
This drive to encourage the use of solar power complements a matching program to offer a discount of $1.90 per installed watt and also 30 percent federal investment tax credit (ITC) for solar power. These incentives spell good times for even the less financially privileged in their attempt to opt for solar energy as an alternative.
Rive states that a majority of San Francisco residents pay a differential rate for their energy usage- those who consume more power have to pay a higher rate. The rates range between 12 cents per kilowatt-hour and 36 cents per kilowatt-hour, depending, of course, on consumption.
Before opting for solar energy, most clients of SolarCity have had to pay between 23 cents and 31 cents per kilowatt-hour for electrical power. But with the advent of the incentive package, even consumers who had paid as low as 12 cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity can be expect to make savings upon opting for solar panels- according to Rive.
“For as low as $25 per month, you can get a 2.4-kilowatt capacity system,” he said.
Chris Clark, who lives in Inner Sunset, a misty area in San Francisco, is almost through with concluding a lease agreement with SolarCity. “It‘s going to reduce our bill significantly with the city rebate, probably 40 percent,” he said. Clark, who has to spend around $120 per month, on electricity bills, is expected to cut it down to $70 per month once SolarCity installs his system in August.
John Stubblebine, who belongs to Cupertino, California, had solar panels fitted out on his roof by SolarCity about a month back. He chose to pay an initial amount of 8 percent on the $35,000, 6-kilowatt solar panel system.
“You can choose to pay zero, 8, or 16 percent of the system. Since I chose to put in a slightly more expensive system, there would be a slightly higher rate without a down payment,” he said.
The immediate upshot of his investment was a reduction of his electricity bill from $158 per month to $116 per month. However, he noted that he was still required to pay a token charge to Pacific Gas and Electric for meter readings. Further, the rates he is required to pay for electricity have been altered from a static rate to one which depends on usage, with maximum rates applicable during the midday, when demand is generally highest.
“You settle your bill with PG&E by the end of the year. If you‘ve used more electricity than you produced, you pay all that. If you‘ve used less, you don‘t get money back,” he explained.
SolarCity, since its inception in 2007, has had enviable growth- from two employees to almost 300 currently- and harbors hopes of at least recording a 100 percent increase on its 30 million dollar profits for the current year.
Despite competition from Bay Area newbies like Sun Run, Clean Power Finance and GroSolar, SolarCity has extended its presence to places like Arizona and Oregon, with plans to cover the East Coast as well by 2009.