Wireless Power May Cut the Cord for Plug-In Devices, Including Cars

New technology that allows for wireless charging of electronic devices could make a rarity of cord jungles like the one in this image, captured this year at a power generation station in New York City during the blackout caused by Hurricane Sandy.

A mobile phone that charges in your pocket, a flat-screen TV that needs no power cord, a car fueled by a cordless panel in the floor: In a nondescript building just outside Boston, these and other applications of wireless electricity signal a future with fewer snaking cables.
WiTricity, a company spun off from research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), aims to redefine how people use energy, making it possible to power devices without ever plugging them into an outlet. In WiTricity's lab, various devices run on power transmitted via electric coils through the air.

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Devin Coldewey , NBC News Record set in solar cell efficiency - with the light of a thousand suns

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy have created a solar cell that can convert 44 percent of sunlight hitting it into electrical energy, setting a new record for solar cell efficiency. But it was only achieved by multiplying the power of the sun by nearly 1,000.

The ongoing research is being done at the III-V Multijunction Photovoltaics group at the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, where the previous record of 43.5 percent was set. So while it's not a huge leap in efficiency, it's still a record.

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The 2012 solar year in review and what lies ahead in 2013

During 2012, many PV manufacturers endured a long, uphill battle, staggering under steep price cuts, excess inventory, shrinking margins and political headwinds; and all the while, jostling for position with other technologies. However, those that have demonstrated the stamina to survive, and that can hold their ground in 2013, have a chance at remaining in top demand for years to come.

Read more: http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/the-2012-solar-year-in-review-and-what-lies-ahead-in-2013_100009692/#ixzz2GMktXhOS

Manipulating Light to Double Solar Power Output

An ARPA-E project will use advanced, nanostructured materials to make solar cells that convert far more of the energy in sunlight into electricity.

• By Kevin Bullis on December 28, 2012

Why It Matters

Increasing the amount of electricity a solar panel produces is one of the most effective ways to reduce the cost of solar power.

Most solar panels convert less than 20 percent of the energy in the sunlight that falls on them into electricity. A new $2.4 million project funded by the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy aims to greatly increase the amount of sunlight that becomes electricity. Its goal is a conversion efficiency of more than 50 percent, which would more than double the amount of power generated by a solar panel of a given size. This would cut the number of solar panels needed in half and potentially make solar power more competitive with fossil fuels.

In the new research effort, Harry Atwater, a professor of applied physics and materials science at Caltech, plans to use precisely structured materials to sort sunlight into eight to 10 different colors and direct those to solar cells with semiconductors that are matched perfectly to each color. As a result, more of the solar spectrum will be absorbed, and the energy contained in each slice of the spectrum will be converted mostly to electricity, rather than heat.

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Lab building test centers for solar power across U.S.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- One of the National Security Administration's three national laboratories is building regional testing centers around the country to field-test hardware for solar companies before their multimillion-dollar solar systems are installed in buildings. 

The Sandia National Laboratory is building test centers in Albuquerque, Denver, Las Vegas, Orlando, Fla., and Burlington, Vt., the Albuquerque Journal reported.

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Wind, solar power paired with storage could be cost-effective way to power grid

Renewable energy could fully power a large electric grid 99.9 percent of the time by 2030 at costs comparable to today’s electricity expenses, according to new research ("Cost-minimized combinations of wind power, solar power and electrochemical storage, powering the grid up to 99.9% of the time") by the University of Delaware and Delaware Technical Community College.

A well-designed combination of wind power, solar power and storage in batteries and fuel cells would nearly always exceed electricity demands while keeping costs low, the scientists found.

Read more: http://www.nanowerk.com/news2/green/newsid=27965.php#ixzz2Egwwswm6
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High-Voltage DC Breakthrough Could Boost Renewable Energy

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2012/12/121206-high-voltage-dc-breakthrough/

Grid Parity In Sight for New Low-Cost Solar Cell

Grid Parity In Sight For New Low-Cost Solar Cell (via Clean Technica)

  That light barreling down upon us from the end of the tunnel is solar power as cheap as fossil fuels. The latest breakthrough is a low-cost solar cell manufactured with the help of Gallium Arsenide, a compound of the “poor metal” gallium and arsenic. It definitely does not sound like something…

Global Photonic Energy Corporation Develops Potential Grid Parity Solar Cell

Media Contact: Phil Allen

Global Photonic Energy Corporation

877-750- (GPEC) 4732

303-898-0625

philallen@globalphotonic.com

www.globalphotonic.com

Global Photonic Energy Corporation Develops
Potential Grid Parity Solar Cell

Research Partner University of Michigan Produces 20% Efficient,
ultra-lightweight and flexible Gallium Arsenide Solar Cell
at a Potential $0.45 per watt

 MEDFORD LAKES, N.J., December 7, 2012 – Global Photonic Energy Corporation (“GPEC”), a leading developer of a sustainable Organic Photovoltaic (OPV™) technology that enables ultra low-cost solar power generation and exciting new product capabilities, announces the demonstration of a thin-film solar cell that can potentially provide electricity at grid parity, or the cost of traditionally provided electricity.

Dr. Stephen R. Forrest of the University of Michigan said the breakthrough, presented at the Fall Meeting of the Materials Research Society, is the result of substantially reduced production costs.  It is based on a patent-pending invention that reuses the same Gallium Arsenide wafer multiple times to produce solar cells. This unlimited wafer reuse approach to conventional “epitaxial lift off” technology that typically leads to wafer damage, and hence only a very limited number (1 to 2) of wafer reuses, has the potential to reduce the cost of a typical Gallium Arsenide solar cell to below $1 per Watt (peak).

“This exciting development implies that ultra-high efficiency solar cells based on Gallium Arsenide can eventually produce electricity at or below grid parity.” Dr. Forrest stated.  “Using integrated solar concentrators and our adhesive-free, cold-weld bonding technology to plastic substrates, we estimate electricity could be produced as low as $0.45 cents per Watt, compared to traditional grid parity of $1 per Watt.”

“This is a historic development for GPEC,” stated Dean Ledger, President and CEO of GPEC. “In addition to its dramatically reduced cost structure, this demonstration in the University of Michigan laboratories can be used for numerous applications because these high-efficiency solar cells, deployed on roll-up plastic sheets, are ultra-lightweight and flexible. These applications include use in off-grid locations, spot powering of vehicles, mobile military equipment and satellites.” Mr. Ledger said GPEC will commercialize its technology through licensing of its intellectual property, becoming part of its foundational portfolio of more than 425 patents.

About Global Photonic Energy Corporation

Global Photonic Energy Corporation (GPEC) is the world leader in developing sustainable molecular Organic Photovoltaic (OPV™) technologies, holding more than 425 patents issued and pending. GPEC is collaborating with world-class organizations to transform the energy and photovoltaic markets. GPEC has research partnerships with the University of Southern California, the University of Michigan and Princeton University. Global Photonic Energy Corporation is located in Medford Lakes, N.J. To learn more, visit www.globalphotonic.com