An unmanned aerial vehicle that's intended to use a combination of solar power and stored electricity is being developed by Ascent Solar Technologies and Bye Aerospace, both companies announced Tuesday.
(Credit:
Bye Aerospace)
Ascent Solar will be supplying flexible thin-film photovoltaic modules designed for Bye's drone, the Silent Sentinel.
Bye will be using a Williams International FJ33 turbofan engine that will draw power from stored electrical power in a lithium-ion battery and the photovoltaic panels on the plane.
The result will be a quiet, low-emission hybrid UAV with added endurance, according to Bye.
The Silent Sentinel is intended for military surveillance purposes, but could also be used in the commercial world for things like pipeline and power line inspection, forest fire watch, and aerial photography.
While Bye said it has had proposal meetings with U.S. government officials, no contract for the vehicle has yet been signed with the U.S. military.
Bye will not be the first to combine solar panels with a drone-type aircraft. British defense contractor Qinetiq built and tested the Zephyr, a 66-pound glider that flew an unofficial record 54 hours straight (according to Qinetiq's own report) over White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico in 2007. In early 2008, DARPA announced it was developing the Vulture, a solar-powered aircraft that would "fly" for 5 years straight, though arguably that UAV could be considered more of a satellite in orbit.
A solar-paneled Prius done by Solar Electric Vehicles.
(Credit: SEV)Toyota is developing a solar-powered Prius, the Nikkei newspaper has reported yet again.
It was interesting when we heard about this in July.
But it seems to us that someone over at Toyota has now been fake-leaking/hinting news about a solar-powered Prius in one form or another for at least the last year.
This wonder-car-in-the-making has gone from being a Toyota Prius that uses solar roof panels from Kyocera to power its air conditioning unit, to "a vehicle that will be powered solely by solar energy" to quote one recent Associated Press article.
You may find it interesting that this rumor always comes floating by on the heels of bad news from Toyota.
In July, it accompanied news of a series of Toyota plant closings/reorganizations in the U.S.
This latest rumor seems to be timed to follow Toyota's December news that it, too, has succumbed to the world auto industry slump, reporting its first annual operating loss in 70 years, and a series of consolidations and changes in its organizational structure.
Of course, there is already an available solar option for some Toyota owners in the U.S.
Solar Electrical Vehicles (SEV) has been offering an after-market Prius solar overhaul since June 2007. It includes a customized solar panel for a Prius roof that can improve the car's efficiency by about 29 percent. SEV also offers kits for the Toyota Highlander, Rav4 EV, and Ford Escape Hybrid.
For those who just like reading about the idea of a solar car, Canadian engineer Marcelo da Luz and his team have been blogging about their attempt to set the world long-distance record for a solar-powered car with the Power of One (Xof1) vehicle.
SolarWord's first race car was developed for an Australian solar-powered car race by student engineers from the German university Hochschule Bochum.
(Credit: SolarWorld)SolarWorld's offer to General Motors is no joke. The German-based solar-power company is serious about wanting to purchase GM's Opel division, SolarWorld CEO Frank H. Asbeck said Thursday morning on German radio.
SolarWorld announced on Wednesday that it's in the process of making an offer to General Motors for its Adam Opel (aka Opel) division for about 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion).
The initial announcement sparked a flurry of market, analyst, and media skepticism on Wednesday. Asbeck took to the airwaves to clarify his company's position on Thursday. (A transcript of the interview in German is posted on the radio station's Web site.)
Opel, which is part of GM Europe, includes four German factories and a development center in Russelsheim, Germany. SolarWorld is prepared to offer 250 million euros in cash for them, according to Asbeck, and has bank credit lines worth 750 million euros, if the German government provides a guarantee. But the company would also request additional state funds to compensate Opel's 25,000 German workers at about 40,00 euros per job, an estimated 1 billion euros.
GM, which is currently seeking a multibillion-dollar bailout from the U.S. government, publicly dismissed SolarWorld's offer on Wednesday.
"This is pure speculation. We are not going to comment on that. Opel is not for sale," Karin Kirchner, a GM Europe representative told Reuters.
But Asbeck told Deutschlandfunk radio on Thursday that he's getting contradicting signals from others inside GM.
When questioned about SolarWorld's lack of experience in automechanics, Asbeck responded that that auto know-how will come from the existing Opel employees. SolarWorld would supply solar modules.
Asbeck went on to say that the auto industry needs fertilization from another industry, and that vehicles of the future, like those with electric drives and hybrid drives, should not only be reserved for Japanese manufacturers.
SolarWorld is not entirely without automotive experience. The company sponsored and co-developed a high-performance solar sports car with a group of engineers from Hochschule Bochum, a German university that participated in the World Solar Challenge solar-powered car race in Australia in October 2007.
SolarWorld wants to develop Opel into "the first 'green' European automotive group" and "produce a new generation of vehicles with energy-efficient, low-emission drives," according to a company statement. It would specifically use the existing Opel model line, modifying it to include electric drive and hybrid electric vehicles.
Solyndra, a start-up making thin-film photovoltaic systems, has secured $600 million in funding.
It's additionally secured $1.2 billion in contracts from clients in the U.S. and Europe, the Fremont, Calif.-based company revealed Tuesday.
What start-up gets that kind of funding and client promise? Basically, one that's invented thin-film solar panels shaped like old-school fluorescent lightbulbs.
Solyndra's series of tubes offer a unique angle on solar power.
(Credit: Solyndra)Since 2005, Solyndra has quietly been developing a proprietary CIGS-based thin film photovoltaic (PV) system and a staff of more than 500 employees.
CIGS is a material that includes a combination of copper, indium, gallium, and selenide. It's now being used by quite a number of companies to make thin-film solar cells among other things.
Solyndra's cylindrical PV panels don't have to be spaced to leave room for rotation toward the sun as with flat solar panels. The panels are actually rows of cylindrical tubes which are installed horizontally and close to one another.
The tubes can "capture sunlight across a 360-degree photovoltaic surface capable of converting direct, diffuse, and reflected sunlight into electricity," according to Solyndra.
Solyndra panels consist of tubes that can absorb sunlight from all angles.
(Credit: Solyndar)The company also says that because of this unique shape and mounting system, more productive solar surface area can be packed onto one roof than with conventionally shaped panels. Subsequently, its system is able to generate "significantly more solar electricity on an annual basis" compared with flat panels, according to the company.
Because Solyndra's tube panels are lighter and allow wind to pass through them easily, there is less construction needed in terms of rooftop anchoring or shoring up a roof for significant weight-bearing. Because of this, according to Solyndra, its system is significantly cheaper to install than flat-panel systems
While solar power may not be considered the complete solution to U.S. energy woes, many commercial, industrial, and public facilities are looking at using solar photovoltaic systems as a supplement to their facilities' energy diets. In April, for example, the landmark Staples Center in Los Angeles announced it will be covering its 24,196-foot roof with photovoltaic modules.
Thin-film solar cells, particularly CIGS panels, have been attracting a lot of attention and funding. SoloPower, NanoSolar, and Ava Solar are thin-film solar companies that have announced funding in the hundreds of millions over the last few months. Even IBM is getting into CIGS solar cells through a partnership with a Japanese semiconductor equipment manufacturer.
Solyndra's funding comes from a mix of venture capital and private equity investments totaling $600 million to date. Solyndra investors include Virgin Green Fund, the Abu Dhabi-based Masdar, Rockport Capital Partners, and Argonaut Capital, according to a company spokeswoman.
The company has already been expanding its current plant, Venture Beat reported early Tuesday morning.
Solyndra counts Solar Power, the company contracted to do the Staples Center, and Phoenix Solar, a large solar power integration company in Europe, among its satisfied customers.
"By eliminating the need for roof-penetrating mounts and wind ballasts, PV arrays with Solyndra panels can be installed with one-third the labor, in one-third of the time, at one-half the cost. For commercial rooftops, PV module installation time can now be measured in days, not weeks. For flat commercial rooftops this is game-changing technology," Manfred Bachler, chief technical officer at Phoenix Solar, said in a statement.
Soon even more star power than usual will be absorbed by the Staples Center and Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.
In an initiative to reduce the overall carbon footprint of the two venues, Solar Power Inc., or SPI, has been hired by AEG to install its line of photovoltaic solar-panel power systems on their roofs, beginning in October.
The Staples Center, which seats approximately 20,000, is home to the LA Lakers, LA Sparks, and LA Clippers basketball teams, the LA Kings hockey team and the LA Avengers arena football team, as well as host to concerts and events such as the Grammy Awards.
When installation is complete, approximately 24,196 feet of the Staples Center roof will be covered with 1,727 of SPI's photovoltaic modules, which include cells made by Motech Industries, adding up to a 345-kilowatt solar-power system.
The famous roof "surfboard," bearing the Staples logo, will not be removed, but rather will be incorporated into the new design, according to SPI.
The Nokia Theatre LA Live is a slightly smaller, 7,100-seat venue that has hosted the 2008 American Idol finals, the American Music Awards, the ESPY Awards, and numerous concerts. Approximately 836 photovoltaic modules will be installed, covering about 11,663 square feet of its roof and supplying a 167-kilowatt solar-power system.
"Our investment to purchase these state-of-the-art photovoltaic solar-energy systems for both Staples Center and Nokia Theater LA Live, making them the first facilities of their kind to do so at this level, reaffirms our commitment to ensuring that our venues are the most environmentally friendly in the industry," Zeidman said in a statement.
The solar installation can be added to the venues' list of "green efforts," which includes things like waterless urinals and energy-efficient fluorescent and LED lighting.
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