The Energy Blog

DOE Selects 13 Projects for Solar Technology Development

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Samuel W. Bodman on February 8 announced the selection of 13 industry-led solar technology development projects for negotiation for up to $168 million (FY’07-’09) in funding, subject to appropriation from Congress.  These projects will help significantly reduce the cost of producing and distributing solar energy.  As part of the cost-shared agreements, the industry-led teams will contribute more than 50 percent of the funding for these projects for a total value of up to $357 million over three years. These cooperative agreements, to be negotiated, will be the first made available as part of President Bush’s Solar America Initiative (SAI), a component of his Advanced Energy Initiative (AEI), announced in his 2006 State of the Union Address. 

These projects enable the projected expansion of the annual U.S. manufacturing capacity of PV systems from 240 MW in 2005 to as much as 2,850 MW by 2010, representing more than a ten-fold increase.  Such capacity would also put the U.S. industry on track to reduce the cost of electricity produced by PV from current levels of $0.18-$0.23 per kWh to $0.05 - $0.10 per kWh by 2015 – a price that is competitive in markets nationwide.

Aesthetically Pleasing SolarSave® Roofing Tiles

Open Energy Corporation (OTC BB: OEGY.OB), has announced the signing of a national distribution agreement for SolarSave® Roofing Tiles and Balance of System products with DC Power Systems, one of the largest wholesale renewable energy distributors in the country.

Open Energy Roofing Tiles are building integrated solar products designed for both new construction and re-roofing. The tiles are claimed to maintain the natural look of your property while generating clean, safe, efficient electricity from the sun. They can be easily installed on commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential structures, making them an ideal solution renewable energy projects.

Heliovolt Wins Two WSJ Solar Technology Awards

HelioVolt Corporation was chosen as the Overall Silver winner of the prestigious Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award, as well as the first-place winner in the Energy and Power category. The awards recognize the pioneering work of Dr. B.J. Stanbery for his novel FASST(TM) thin film manufacturing technology and underscore a year of growth for the company. Other recent technology and innovation accolades for HelioVolt include a Nanotech Briefs' Nano 50(TM) award, a Frost & Sullivan 2006 Innovation Award, and a finalist for Small Times' Best of Small Tech Business Leader award.

HelioVolt is gaining momentum with its proprietary manufacturing process FASST(TM) that produces photovoltaics at least ten times faster than thin-film competitors. Marking a paradigm shift in solar technology, HelioVolt's thin-film CIGS can be applied directly onto conventional construction materials including steel, architectural glass, and roofing materials creating power-generating buildings.

Open Energy BIPV Projects

From several press releases and the company website the following post has been generated for Open Energy Corporation (OEC), (OEGY)

OEC announced today, the completion of the installation of its SolarSave roofing tiles at the Evelyn Pease Tyner Interpretive Center, located in Glenview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.

The company provided 490 of its building-integrated photovoltaic SolarSave roofing tiles for the project. The 17.5 kilowatt roofing system was installed over 1500 square feet, making up a third of the roof's total surface area. The system is designed to generate an estimated 1800 kilowatt hours per month and up to a total of 20,000 kilowatt hours per year.

"This is our second installation of roofing tiles in less than 30 days ..." commented David Saltman, President and CEO of Open Energy. "Solar roofing applications are an extremely important alternative energy source and we're very pleased that our SolarSave roofing tiles were chosen for this project based on their ease of installation and superior energy output."