IREC Reports 2010 U.S. Solar Boom, But What Does the Future Hold?

Prices dropped, installations soared, and capacity surged in what proved to be a prosperous year for the solar industry, according to the 2010 U.S. Solar Market Trends Report released late last month by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). This may be great news for the industry, but while the road seems stable now, there are still some hazards to navigate in the distance.

Source: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2011/07/irec-reports-2010-solar-boom-but-what-does-the-future-hold?cmpid=rss

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Solar Sales up 66% | Solar Profits up 85% | Rich Hessler Solar Business Development Customers

SolarNexus Now Provides One-Click Ordering from Leading Hardware Suppliers

SolarNexus, the industry leader in web-based solar business management software, has reduced the time and complexity required for solar contractors to order hardware from the industry's top suppliers. Until now, solar contractors manually managed multiple supplier catalogs, redundantly entered product details into order forms or managed many different online portals to order their equipment. With SolarNexus, they can now directly send Purchase Orders or Requests for Quotes to major suppliers with a single click.

Source: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/partner/solarnexus/news/article/2011/07/solarnexus-now-provides-one-click-ordering-from-leading-hardware-suppliers?cmpid=rss

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Anatomy of a Solar PV System: How to Continue "Ferocious Cost Reductions" for Solar Electricity

Clean energy professionals often complain that solar PV receives too much attention compared to other sectors like solar hot water, geothermal and biomass. I'm sympathetic to that sentiment. But I also think the attention is deserved.

Source: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2011/07/anatomy-of-a-solar-pv-system-how-to-continue-ferocious-cost-reductions-for-solar-electricity?cmpid=rss

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Forward Drive: The Race to Build ?Clean? Cars for the Future

As more and more alternative-fuel cars from major auto makers enter the market, and with gasoline prices continuing to soar, “clean” cars are no longer being relegated to side-show status; they’re taking center stage. Forward Drive presents the fascinating story of the race to build greener cars?ones that can help address the problems that have [...]

Source: http://jordaneske.ws/forward-drive-the-race-to-build-clean-cars-for-the-future/

DIEBOLD DELL CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR ACCENTURE ACER ADOBE SYSTEMS

Conergy completes Great Britain's largest free-field solar park

The Conergy Group has completed Great Britain's largest solar power plant. The 5 MW free-field park is situated in Hawton, near Newark on Trent in Nottinghamshire. The "fast-track" project was built in cooperation with Conergy's local partner Lark Energy and was completed only six weeks after receiving the planning consent on the May 24, 2011.

Source: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/partner/conergy-inc/news/article/2011/07/conergy-completes-great-britains-largest-free-field-solar-park?cmpid=rss

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Schneider Electric presents solar solutions at Intersolar North America

Schneider Electric will present solar solutions in Booth 7510 at one of the largest solar trade shows in California, Intersolar North America, taking place from July 12-14 in San Francisco.

Source: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/partner/xantrex-technology-inc-1165/news/article/2011/07/schneider-electric-presents-solar-solutions-at-intersolar-north-america?cmpid=rss

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The Effect of Dust on Solar Panels

http://www.solarfeeds.com/ad3/wash-me-2.jpg

It is dusty here in the desert. Last night as the summer monsoon began, and the first of the dust storms started, anyone with contact lenses probably did not enjoy the evening?s cool down. Even those of us with eyeglasses noticed the grit in the air. Do a Google search on ?haboob? if you want to see what we can expect in the days to come. The Arizona desert is made of dust which spends most of its time just lying there. Sometimes, the wind picks up and blows it around, and when that happens, it falls on everything.

Clean a glass table here and then wait ten minutes. It will have dust on it. Clean a mirror when the Sun shines through the window and you will be driven nuts by the fact that you won?t ever, ever get it perfectly clean. If you hate dust, don?t come here.

People ask all the time whether dust on the solar panels effects electrical production and if it does, should they wash it off? The answers are yes ? and no.

Take a look at yesterday?s solar output (the light blue bell curve). This is pretty normal stuff for the Valley of the Sun ? the power comes up with the Sun and then it goes down. No clouds and only a little jitteriness from unstable, super heated air around here. Then came last night?s storms  ? we told you they were coming ? and they did ? monsoon rains finally fell ? a good strong storm came through and washed the accumulated dust from the panels and everything else, too. Since it hadn?t rained here in nearly two months, the panels seemed quite dusty and we all danced in the rain ? at last a good drink for the desert.

The darker blue line just above the light blue bell curve is the power output so far today. See, it?s a little bit higher than yesterday. What?s different? The panels are clean ? and there is more power from them. It?s not a lot of power, but it?s some and it?s noticeable.

So, to answer the questions: Yes, dust costs us some power, but no it?s not all that much. Washing the panels most likely costs more in water than you?d get back in electricity, and now you can see for yourself why this is true. Enjoy the rain ? it won?t last long ? but it does leave clean panels.

Original Article on SkyPower

Source: http://www.solarfeeds.com/skypower/17452-the-effect-of-dust-on-solar-panels

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