How hot is too hot? First Solar's star status gets another boost - asks what happens if Silicon shortage eases on thin film. What was not mentioned directly is a lot of the solar business is in Europe. This article mentions possible industry consolidation. INTERVIEW-Solar consolidation could happen this year-banker
My favorite Op-Ed writer is back, Thomas Friedman Op-Ed Columnist Dumb as We Wanna Be Great article! Talking about how Europe has built a solar industry and how the US percent of the market has fallen dramatically.
Good quote from the article:
While all the presidential candidates were railing about lost manufacturing jobs in Ohio, no one noticed that America’s premier solar company, First Solar, from Toledo, Ohio, was opening its newest factory in the former East Germany — 540 high-paying engineering jobs — because Germany has created a booming solar market and America has not.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Solar Cost
Interesting letter - Solar is still mighty expensive. Makes some good points about how long it takes to payoff even with the subsidy (23 years) and how the warranty is not that long. Another hopeful article (sounds like a press release) Start-up: Affordable solar power possible in a year. The key is concentrating the solar energy using mirrors/reflectors.
My opinion is solar will come down through a combination of simple improvements which individually don't decrease the cost that much, but when taken together will.
My opinion is solar will come down through a combination of simple improvements which individually don't decrease the cost that much, but when taken together will.
Monday, April 28, 2008
EMF in Hybrids
Teaser article from the NY Times - Motoring: Fear, but Few Facts, on Hybrid Risk
Keypoints:
Shielding is easy to do if there is an interest. The 50 and 60 Hz in the test I don't understand based on how the Dc to DC and inverter works (high frequency AC is used to create DC to change the voltage).
Keypoints:
- Cheap to buy a hand held meter
- Measurements by handheld meter are not consistent
- Some people are worried
Shielding is easy to do if there is an interest. The 50 and 60 Hz in the test I don't understand based on how the Dc to DC and inverter works (high frequency AC is used to create DC to change the voltage).
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Solar City in Cairo Slum
NPR had a segment today that mentioned the solar water heating project in Cairo, Solar Cities. In Cairo Slum, the Poor spark Environmental Change
Home brewed Ethanol?
NY Times article - PROTOTYPE; Home Brew for the Car, Not the Beer Cup
They key is getting cheap sugar from Mexico. My guess is if this spreads, there will be tarrifs all of sudden on the cheap, inedible sugar.
They key is getting cheap sugar from Mexico. My guess is if this spreads, there will be tarrifs all of sudden on the cheap, inedible sugar.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Solar in Uganda
Time to go for solar energy - letter to the editor saying Uganda should go Solar. I would suggest using Solar heating, because it makes economic sense. Using solar for generating electricity at this time usually does not make sense for most applications. Of course it depends on the cost of existing power, are the lines already run (cost money), and the stability of existing supplies. It may make more sense because of a poor infrastructure to go with solar.
In Egypt, there is a group installing free Solar Water heaters in the slums of Cairo. Article from NPR In Cairo Slum, the Poor Spark Environmental Change. I believe that Solar Water Heating should spread more because of the cost of gas/fuel for heating water. All a solar water heating set up needs is black plastic and some pipes. My grandfather built one from scratch years ago for an above ground pool he had.
In Egypt, there is a group installing free Solar Water heaters in the slums of Cairo. Article from NPR In Cairo Slum, the Poor Spark Environmental Change. I believe that Solar Water Heating should spread more because of the cost of gas/fuel for heating water. All a solar water heating set up needs is black plastic and some pipes. My grandfather built one from scratch years ago for an above ground pool he had.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Iqbal Quadir at Drucker School
Prof. Quadir spoke at the Drucker School today. Excellent presentation and a lot to think about! His thesis is decentralization helps prosperity is thought provoking. It seems that most poor countries have the best of everything around the capitol. He is an advocate of using business as a tool for helping the poor, and has done a huge amount of positive work by providing cell phones in Bangledesh with grameenphone that now has 200 Million in profits and is about to go IPO. Amazing!
In a Science Fiction book I read, it mentioned how a person had gotten educated due to getting a solar powered computer that was hooked into the net. The book was EarthWeb. I prefer David's Sling. So with the success of Grameenphone, plus Moore's law, and iPhone - I wonder how long till distance learning can do something about educating people. Why the iPhone - because it's so easy to use and the size. So looking ahead 10 years I would not be surprised if an iPhone drops in price to $100 easy. There is already work on $100 Laptop, unfortunately usability is not as good and it does not seem to be doing that well.
In a Science Fiction book I read, it mentioned how a person had gotten educated due to getting a solar powered computer that was hooked into the net. The book was EarthWeb. I prefer David's Sling. So with the success of Grameenphone, plus Moore's law, and iPhone - I wonder how long till distance learning can do something about educating people. Why the iPhone - because it's so easy to use and the size. So looking ahead 10 years I would not be surprised if an iPhone drops in price to $100 easy. There is already work on $100 Laptop, unfortunately usability is not as good and it does not seem to be doing that well.
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