On top of that, two new facilities in Portland, Oregon will be constructed. In total, these facilities will create 450 permanent jobs, 270 construction jobs and several hundred supply chain jobs for the community.

SoloPower makes use of an innovative manufacturing process to produce copper, indium, gallium and selenide (CIGS) based PV cells. After these CIGS cells are manufactured, they are packaged into solar modules as finished products.
SoloPower’s expansion is indeed beneficial for the company, clients and the community at large.

“SoloPower is bringing exactly the kind of new jobs Oregon needs,” said Governor John Kitzhaber. “Working with SoloPower to bring their manufacturing headquarters to Portland, we are continuing on the path of supporting a strong clean technology manufacturing base in Oregon.”

“This loan guarantee from the DOE is the kind of job creating investment this country needs,” said Senator Ron Wyden. “Companies that push the boundaries of known technology will reinvigorate America’s economy and provide much-needed family wage jobs for Oregonians now, and in the future.”

Using solar panels is one of the best ways to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. With massive investments into solar power, we can inch towards a future that uses renewable energy.

“Solar manufacturing represents one of the best ways to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and with SoloPower poised to make a massive investment in Oregon’s already impressive alternative energy technology industry, it is clearer than ever that Oregon continues to be a ‘go-to’ state for innovation,” the Senator added.

SoloPower recently began making improvements to its existing facility in San Jose, California to accommodate the capacity expansion. Construction on the first facility in Portland, Oregon is anticipated to start next month.

(This news report was adapted from: Business Wire, published 19 Aug 2011)

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Solar Panel Battery

A solar panel battery is different from a normal battery. A normal battery converts chemical energy into electrical energy while a solar panel converts sunlight into electrical energy. While a normal battery has the capacity to store energy, a solar panel depends on external resources to do that.

A semiconductor is the medium through which electron movement takes place. As photons hits the surface of the material, electrons are displaced, creating a potential difference. This phenomenon was accidentally discovered when scientists observed that silicon doped with some impurities became very sensitive to light. Very soon, mankind began researching into various materials to make photovoltaic cells.

The first solar cells are large pieces of single-junction semiconductors made of silicon. The productions of such cells are very energy intensive and expensive. Later, other materials with semiconductor properties were experimented with success. Some of these were Cadmium Telluride (CdTe), Copper Indium Gallium Selenide, Amorphous Silicon And Micromorphous Silicon.

Engineers also discovered that such semiconductors could be deposited on thin pieces of glass or ceramic. This reduces the mass of solar cells. While such materials coupled with better production techniques do not promise higher energy conversion, but certainly enabled lower production costs

The efficiency of present day photovoltaic cell comes close to 20%. Further research gives us hope that someday we can reach efficiencies as high as 60%. This can probably be achieved by harnessing more of the solar radiation, tapping into the ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths.

Solar panel batteries are commonly installed in homes, office buildings and even on streets. Their size varies according to the application involved. Recently manufacturers have also designed another type of solar panel (known as Solar Shingles) meant to fit aesthetically into various architectural designs. These look like the roof tiles we commonly see, but they are coated with a layer of photovoltaic material.

Applications of a solar panel battery

While all solar panels look pretty much the same – dark, reflective-surfaced panels – their application varies widely.

Small solar panels can be used at your backyard or garden to power small electronics like your garden sprinkler, automatic gate opener or pond filters and aerators. Larger systems can also be installed at your home to replace all or part of your household energy needs.

Solar cells are also seen on many types of small gadgets and electronics like calculators, music players, mobile phones and LED torch. On the opposite end of the scale, large groups of solar panels can be used to produce massive amounts of energy to supply an entire city’s energy consumption.

Many large projects were designed and discussed. But the huge investment and seemingly long payback period has discouraged organizations from adopting solar power generators on any scale. Fortunately there are corporations like Google who are willing to trail-blaze the way for others to follow.

In both large and small solar power systems, some means of energy storage is necessary. This will retain excess power that’s generated during the day so it can be dispensed during the night. The most common form of energy storage is rechargeable battery. This is almost always the case, even for an off-grid solar power system. All it needs is a larger set of batteries.

For grid energy storage, possibilities (that are still not widely applied) include pumped-water storage, compressed air, thermal storage, frictionless flywheel, super-conducting magnetic storage and compressed hydrogen.

Scientists and engineers are hopeful that technology may advance to the point where implementation costs falls significantly – so that an average family may afford solar panels easily.

By then, more and more homes will make use of solar power to supplement their energy needs. Many other homes will go off-grid. Large corporations and governments can also install numerous solar electric power plants to sell cheap renewable energy to consumers living in areas without abundant sunlight. By then, most parts of our country (and even the world) may be ready to usher in a new solar panel battery era without fossil fuel.

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Thus far, over 60 vacancies have already been filled at the plant. Another 100 positions will be created by the end of 2012. Staffs at this plant works on a two-shift rotation to manufacture flexible thin-film modules. They will eventually move to a three-shift operation at the beginning of the third quarter.

Global solar energy fabricates their own solar cells that are protected by special films. This ensures the durability of each solar module produced. Their module efficiency reaches up to 12.6 percent mainly due to the unique mix of copper, indium, gallium and diselenide used.

Each PowerFLEX BIPV modules weigh only 3.5 kg per square meter and are suited for use on flat industrial roofs. The thin-film modules are simply fixed into position and do not require solar mounts or frames. Because of the solar module structure, it does not put additional wind load on the roof. At a size of 5.74 x 0.5 meters, each PowerFLEX module produces a power density of up to 300 Watts.

(This news report was adapted from: Global Solar Energy, published 29 Aug 2011)

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