Archive for April, 2010
I have finalized some inventions in the field of hydrogen and solar energy. I have made many connections to demonstrate them, but because of very poor investment on research in my region there is the least chance to find a sponsor. Do you know someone, some company or organization to be interested in the matter?
The fact is that i have also contacted some universities, but since my prior education is not related to this field (mining engineering), they can not accept me.
At the time being I am working on the patents.
i work for appalachian energy. we provide solar, wind, andhydro power. go to appalachianenergy.com
I am interested to know the materials composition to produce solar panels.
I know its made of silicon. I want to know what are the raw materials used to make solar panels.
most terrestrial solar panels are made from silicon
Solar Energy is the wave of the future and growing.. I’m also looking overseas perhaps Germany? Any advice would be helpful!
Its gotta be Suntech Power! (NYSE:STP) This is a Chinese company that is on track to produce 1GW of solar panels by 2010.
Key strengths:
Low cost of production using Chinese labor
Secured long term polysilicon supply
High tech R&D with collaboration with UNSW solar research
High levels of insider ownership (CEO owned about 30% of company)
Motley Fool Rule Breaker selection
Company expects polysilicon prices to come down after new production come online probably in 2009, especially in China.
I am doing research on solar panels and I am having trouble figuring out how much energy each one can produce in a given span of time. Knowing this would help me to approximate how many I would need to offset certain consumers in my home.
Lucky you! The National Renewable Energy Lab has already created an application to do pretty much what you’re looking for. It’s called pvwatts, and is linked below.
What you do is click on the map for the city nearest you, then enter the size of your proposed array, it’s tilt, and orientation. You’ll get a month-by-month printout of the expected energy output. This is based on historical measurements over almost 40 years, so takes into account local climate, such as fog, rain, and altitude.
If there is no reference city near you, you can still use another version of the program to do predictions for an arbitrary location.
Im fresh out of high school and am not sure what education i should be seeking next. I have heard that renewable energy is a fast growing field and would like to know what education a good job in that field would require. By a good job i mean anything from installing solar panels or repairing wind turbines. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Look into electrical, electronic, and mechanical engineering. I would say the best thing that anyone could tell you is to stay versatile. Things are changing so fast in the green industry that by the time you learn one thing very well, it has become obsolete, or close to it.
If you are a self help type of person and are really interested in installing or consulting, check out a program ‘RETScreen’. This is a program that the Canadian government has put out to help consultants and estimaters plan for renewable energy conversions
And what are good resources to learn about solar energy from, and where can i buy solar panels.
You should call a company that installs solar panel systems. They will do the evaluation, best location, return on investment, and apply for any rebates that are available from the state.
I am thinking about changing my career and be a salesman of solar energy electricity system. What kind of class I can take to become more knowelegeble? Or if I go back to college, which major should I be choose in order to get in this field?
You don’t need to go back to college, unless you want to become an engineer working on designing new solar systems. I would look for local solar installers and talk to them. If you live in the southwest US, California, New Jersey, Japan, Germany or Spain you might have a better chance because these are the largest markets for solar power.
Should I use the solar panels to heat water or to store electricity, or both? How much will it cost for a 2 bedroom flat? Can I get a grant – if so how much?
Solar panels for electricity are a bit of a waste of time in this part of the country, allowing for the initial expense of the installation, the cost of maintenance and replacment of the batteries between three to five years will cost more than paying a standard supplier.
As for water, some useful gains can be had, i.e. it will take the chill off the incoming water and so reduce your base energy supply costs, but not to any great extent.
Roll on global warming when these systems will become far more viable at these lattitudes.
I am writing a literature review essay..and i have to discuss about the political impact of solar energy..can anyone give me some advices or examples for what i can do about this topic.
Oil is a very political tool. Run by OPEC.
Solar power can be produced 100% domestically in a capitalistic manner. When you have no foreign governments dictating our energy policy, you create an independence that is very important for security. We don’t have to rely on anyone but ourselves. Foreign governments want us to "need" them.
My mother would like to install solar panels on her roof but I and my two sisters would like to equally share the purchase with my mother. We would like to share the income produced from the solar panels. How do we correctly write up a legally binding contract to make this happen?
This might be more complicated than you want to handle. Depending on state and incentive structure, you might need to set up a business or partnership between you so that you can share the money flow and the tax credits.
To find out the incentives and tax credits, check out the DSIRE homepage: http://www.dsireusa.org/