Discussion Notes - Solar Photovoltaics - February 12, 2008

Group Discussion:

Eddison: Largest is in Spain, Parque Solar Hoya de Los Vicentes, Jumilla

Economic:

More feasible so far, companies are already integrating into building designs, energy lost in wires, renewable energy can be divisible

Printable PV, Plextronics got $3M grant from DOE to dev organic PV tech, can print on sheets, flexible/rollable – better for storage, goal/commercially viable = $1/Watt, ORGANIC based, printable, solar cell (NOT silicon), 42% efficient

Solar = .1% of $3 trillion energy market, small but will grow, this revolution is privatized (better economies of scale), SolarCity – 251% stock price increase in 2007

Future scarcity/high prices of silicon?, Si 4th most abundant element in the world

Pay-back time ~8 years, Eddison says: Europe, 2 yrs

Cost of road - $1M per mile

Social:

If market is putting in that much growth, support from the people, a widespread turn,

Aesthetics, people don’t want an ugly power station

Solar is a flagship for renewable energy, students rally behind it, it’s a good image,

New England Dutch Colonial community didn’t want a guy to put solar panels

Scientific:

Plants do photosynthesis at 95%, we have done 42%

CIGS – less efficient but cheaper than silicon

Silicon is a metalloid

Systems are localized, energy probably wouldn’t be produced in Arizona and sent to NY

Solar panels don’t work at night, could we charge huge batteries to have energy at night?, take extra solar to create biofuels for night energy demand

40% captured by PV, is there any way we can capture the remaining 60%

Batteries, with lead acid, horribly inefficient

Solar panels on asphalt? Wear-and-tear on panels, glass on top would dirty

Cadmium

Heterojunction, used at UCLA, P3TE and PCBM – organic compounds, mixed together, power conversion efficiency of 4.4%, private company 5.2% trying to patent

10% fuel efficiency improvement on Prius hybrid, solar panel on roof, 52 to 59 mpg, Alex: Prius gets 40, solar on roofs to get greater

Political:

Berkeley paying up front costs and allowing people to pay higher property taxes over time

Oil lobbyists

Subsidies of other energy companies by the gov’t

Carbon regulation/tax would increase investment in solar

Gov’t doesn’t want people making their own electricity

Environmental:

Heat zones in LA, if we absorb heat, does that area become cooler, environmental effects of this change?

Biggest system, 114 Hectares = 150 soccer fields

Thin-film has highest energy conversion with lowest cost, fewest emissions overall, trying to make the Cadmium-based PV recyclable

Nellis Air Force Base, biggest PV system in U.S., largest consumer of energy in military, 72,000 solar panels, 14 MW, 140 acres, provides 30% of energy usage

Toxic problems in production of PV

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Logistics:

Edo: Give link to Wiki in the Facebook message

Send messages through FEED group

Email- asorensen@ucla.edu, eddisonis@yahoo.com