solar

In the pursuit of squeezing more current from a solar cell, Harvard spin-off SiOnyx is using lasers.

The company today announced third-party tests found its Black Silicon laser texturing process increases the efficiency of traditional silicon cells by 0.3 percent. That may sound minor, but it takes solar manufacturers about a year to achieve that sort of gain through process changes, said Chris Vineis, director of solar technology at SiOnyx.

The company plans to license its technology, which essentially scans a pattern on the surface of solar-grade silicon, to solar manufacturers. In traditional solar production, pure silicon is sliced … Read more

You're using the power of the sun to charge your gadgets. That's kind of awesome. Why keep it to yourself? A new solar charging system from German startup Changers makes your eco-consciousness just as obvious as driving around in a Prius.

The actual charger ventures into familiar territory with a solar module and a battery. It can generate up to 4 watts per hour, enough to fill up the battery in four hours. It is designed to charge smartphones, tablets, and other small electronics.

Normally, a solar charging system would sit quietly by, laboring in silence. Not this one. It hooks up to your PC or Mac by USB, tracks your CO2 savings, and tells all your friends about it over Facebook and Twitter.

The device also tracks your energy production on Changers.com and dishes out credits that can be spent with the company's retail partners. There's no word yet on who those partners are.

The $149 Changers Starter Kit is currently available for preorder, with deliveries starting up within a few weeks. Don't worry, the sun will still be waiting for you.… Read more

The solar industry is in for a dire quarter as falling government subsidies and low volumes further drive down equipment prices at a time when oversupply has already led many sector players to lower their full-year profit outlook.

A pickup in demand for solar panels, widely expected by industry players for the second half, failed to materialize, pushing several U.S. companies, most notably panel maker Solyndra, to file for bankruptcy in recent months.

European players have been cutting their outlooks on falling demand in Germany, among them SMA Solar, the world's No.1 maker of solar inverters and … Read more

A trade complaint filed by a group of solar companies against China drew skeptical reviews from inside the industry, with many fearing a trade war could disrupt growth.

Yesterday, seven U.S. solar manufacturers asked the Obama administration to slap duties of more than 100 percent on China imports, which they said were unfairly undercutting U.S. prices and destroying American jobs.

But many U.S. and European companies supply China's industry with products used to make solar cells, while others end up buying those finished cells to put in their own solar modules.

"It's a really … Read more

Colorado now has a slightly more aesthetic option for harnessing all that lovely Rocky Mountain sun.

Dow Solar, a division of Dow Chemical, began selling solar roofing shingles this month that may attract even the most exigent homeowner.

While there have been several pilot projects throughout the country where the Dow Powerhouse Solar Shingles have been installed since their release in 2009, Colorado is the first state where the shingles will be available for widespread sale and installation.

Dow Solar then plans to mass-market its shingles in a dozen more states, starting in California and moving across the country to … Read more

U.S. solar manufacturers today asked the Obama administration to slap duties of more than 100 percent on imports from China that they said were unfairly undercutting U.S. prices and destroying American jobs.

"Let us be clear, China has a plan for our market--to gut it and own it," said Gordon Brinser, president of SolarWorld Industries Americas at a news conference.

Trade relations with China have become a hot issue ahead of the 2012 U.S. presidential and congressional elections. The Senate last week passed a bill aimed at Beijing's currency practices, although the bill faces … Read more

Home security company Vivint is entering the solar panel installation business with financing model that avoids the upfront cost.

The company, which used to be called APX Alarms, said today it is offering financing for solar through a plan in which the panels are installed for free and consumers purchase the electricity they produce at a 20 percent discount from the retail electricity rate.

Vivint Solar has secured $75 million in financing from US Bancorp that it will use for about 2,400 installations, as a complement to its home security and home automation services. Vivint has started in New … Read more

For centuries, the orrery was a front-line scientific instrument, but software like SolarMax sent these mechanical models of the solar system into storage closets, next to the Visible Man's transparent plastic torso. SolarMax is a free tool that displays the solar system in incredible detail from a variety of projections and perspectives. In essence, it's a desktop planetarium for the solar system.

Aside from a menu bar, SolarMax presents a star field view of the solar system from Earth's perspective, with constellations, ecliptic and equatorial lines, planets, moons, major asteroids, and other astronomical data. Clicking the View … Read more

The University of Michigan's Solar Car Team is hoping to break the U.S.' 24-year dry spell at the 2011 World Solar Challenge this weekend. An American team hasn't won the international solar car race since GM took home the trophy in 1987. But a lighter, faster car could give UM the edge it needs to cross the line first.

The World Solar Challenge is a 1,800-mile race across the Australian Outback in an ultralightweight, single-passenger vehicle powered solely by the sun. Teams race their solar vehicle between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., setting up … Read more