Solar Trading News

Wholefoods Goes Greener

editor — Wed, 06 May 2009 11:46:38 +0000

2 million megawatt hours of renewable energy. On site hydrogen cell electricity. Closed loop recycled paper.

Wholefoods is going more holistic with its green ethic. From building LEED certified green buildings to installing more solar panels, this company is leading the way in both talking and walking the sustainable path.

clipped from www.environmentalleader.com

Whole Foods Market is launching a major energy program that more than triples the number of stores with solar panels, extends its commitment to offset 100 percent of its use of non-renewable electricity with wind energy, and reduces energy use, which includes retrofitting existing stores with energy-efficient lighting, equipment and mechanical components.

$1000 Solar House

editor — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 05:27:21 +0000

The point Mike Toll makes here is that solar panels don’t need to be expensive. If you start small, you can have a chance to test out solar power.Find out if it’s something that you want to go further with.

A smaller investment in a system will give you a chance to get your feet wet without shelling out big bucks.

You’ll also have a chance to meet solar panel suppliers, see how they work, and get an idea of cost, and what it really means for your home energy. And if you want to get more serious with solar later, you can buy a system that can be extended.

clipped from www.hybridcartechnology.net

For $1000 or less, you can have a house with solar power . This setup won’t operate a large home but e.g. for a smaller cabin, you can get the materials for building your system for around $600. This price requires self installation so be ready to do some installation procedures by yourself.

Solar Powered Wifi: for Free?

editor — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 08:58:18 +0000

This company is using solar technology to branch out into more remote areas. Right now, Meraki is in 125 countries. Solar power could help them branch out into many more developing countries and previously uncovered places.

Linking internet and solar power is a very interesting combination. This is a way to marry information and energy.

clipped from www.care2.com

Meraki–the ubiquitous WiFi company–announced their mission to bring affordable Internet access to everyone via new solar powered mesh repeaters

Is this the New Solar Powered Aircon for Florida?

editor — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 08:43:42 +0000

In Florida, once you go a few yards below the earth, the temperature is steady and warm. It stays at a perfect 72 degrees, all year round.

This geothermal heat can be tapped for heating in winter, cooling in summer. This system is like a giant earth powered airconditioning system for your house.

This power is tapped by running water filled pipes through this 72 degree earth zone. The Energy Department of Florida thinks that geothermal Solar can cut power bills by 50% to 80%.

clipped from www.tampabay.com

A solution to Florida’s sky-high electric bills could be right under our feet.

“People really don’t know about it yet,” said Fred Mayes, a senior technology analyst at the Energy Information Administration

$1 per Watt for Solar Energy

editor — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 08:32:11 +0000

From $100 to $1 in 30 years. In this world of exponential growth, it’s not unreasonable to assume that solar could be $0.30 cents in the future.

clipped from www.examiner.com

In the late 1970s solar energy cost $100 per watt.

Even though the price with the newest solar technology has now fallen to under $1 per watt, that price will almost certainly continue to drop.

Stock Prices Soar: Chinese Government to Subsidise Solar Power

editor — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:53:25 +0000

China currently has 16% renewable energy. They want to grow that to 23% by 2020.

In order to speed up this program, they are giving a subsidy to residential scale solar installations. This ‘solar roofs program’ subsidy has caused up to a 47% surge in various solar power stocks.

Right now, China is the world’s leading greenhouse gas emitter. This makes their government’s commitment to green energy even more important for our climate’s future.

clipped from www.bloomberg.com

The government will offer this year 20 yuan ($2.93) per
watt for solar projects with generating capacity of at least 50
kilowatts, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement posted
today on its Web site.

“We believe meaningful upside potential exists if
government support for domestic solar sector continues,”
Barclays Plc analyst Vishal Shah wrote in a note to clients.

Solar Energy on the Prius

editor — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:15:56 +0000

At the moment, solar panels are not efficient enough to power cars. That is, not conventional cars.

There is an annual solar desert race in Australia, but cars there benefit from constant sunshine. They also aim to keep a constant speed and not change direction much. This is very different from the usual way we drive cars in major cities.

However, as solar power continues to increase in efficiency, the possibilities for solar transport slowly inch closer.

The solar power in question with the Prius simply contributes to part of the air conditioning.

clipped from www.montrealgazette.com

“It’s more of a symbolic gesture,” said the source, who asked not to be identified. “It’s very difficult to power much more than that with solar energy.”

This is Your President Speaking…

editor — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 09:41:38 +0000

Barak Obama talks to the astronauts on the Space Shuttle Discovery in orbit around the earth.

clipped from voices.washingtonpost.com

Obama, Solar Power and Space

editor — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 09:39:39 +0000

Astronauts on the space station had a tele conference with President Obama and a group of school children.

The president told the astronauts how much he admired the work they were doing. They had just finished installing a new array of solar panels that attached onto the space station.

This new power meant they could double the number of crew in orbit. Space travel was one of the original drivers to developing solar power. There are still some interesting schemes about harvesting solar energy from space. The main obstacle is cost and transporting the power back to earth.

clipped from www.technewsworld.com

“We’re investing back here on the ground a whole array of solar and other renewable energy projects and so to find out that you’re doing this up at the space station is particularly exciting,” Obama said.

1GW Solar Energy: First Solar Produces Milestone

editor — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 09:28:20 +0000

First Solar has solar power plants in the US, Germany and Malaysia. They have reached this milestone, and are now looking to grow even more in the coming months and years.

1GW of energy a year is similar to that supplied by a normal sized nuclear power plant. What’s particularly significant is that half of First Solar’s growth has occurred in just the last 8 months.

Clearly there is a lot of demand for renewable energy. And as the volume of energy production increases, the price of solar energy goes down.

clipped from greenstockscentral.com

After more than 6 six years, First Solar (FSLR) has produced a total of 1GW of its thin film solar modules with 500MW of that being produced in just the past 8 months.