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Konarka Research Project To Increase Lifespan Of Organic Solar Cells
Nuremberg, Germany (SPX) Dec 04, 2008 Konarka Technologies has announced Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is supporting a future oriented development project through a consortium that is headed by Konarka, and is providing funding of nearly EUR 2.5 million over the next three years. The project, called "OPV stability" targets to significantly increase the lifespan of organic solar cells (OSC) with the goal of yielding competitive organic photovoltaics (OPV) for potential commercial use. Established to develop stable organic solar modules, the consortium consists of renowned academic partners including University Tubingen, University Wuppertal, Julius-Maximilians-University Wurzburg, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich and the Max-Planck-Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz. "The partners of this BMBF initiative are participating to break through technological and economic barriers in innovation in the field of organic photovoltaics," commented Christoph Brabec, CTO at Konarka. "We are expected to make significant contributions to extending the lifespan of organic solar cells, ultimately delivering future organic photovoltaic technology with increased commercial attractiveness." Organic solar cells are flexible, semi-transparent and extremely inexpensive to produce, yielding huge potential for the future, but existing barrier materials result in a limited lifespan. Significantly higher life expectancy can only be realized by combining high-quality encapsulation with high intrinsic stability of photoactive materials, which is the focus of the BMBF Stability Project. There have been many improvements in OSC technology in the recent past, but due mostly to improved packaging of cells rather than an extension of the lifespan. The BMBF recently announced that it is also supporting a future-oriented development project by a consortium of renowned companies, including Konarka, which aims to develop innovative polymeric solar cells for energy-autonomous systems. The BMBF Efficiency Project is expected to yield solar cells that are optimized for specific applications with efficiencies of more than 10% and are highly competitive with other PV technologies. Related Links Konarka Technologies All About Solar Energy at SolarDaily.com
Largest Installation Of Solar Meca Trackers In USA
El Dorado Hills CA (SPX) Dec 03, 2008Premier Power has announced it has completed 51% of the massive "Meca Trackers" project being installed on the West County Wastewater District in Richmond, California. The project is expected to be operational by Jan 15th 2008. The Richmond water district installation is comprised of 90 of the nation's largest bi-directional solar tracking arrays. Each of the 90 solar arrays designed and engineered by Premier Power stands over three and a half stories tall (forty five feet tall by forty five feet wide) and each continuously tracks the sun for maximum efficiency. Each tracker and panel array sit on platforms made with over forty four thousand pounds of concrete specifically designed to distribute the weight for application in wetlands. Much of the Richmond water district land is highly corrosive and contaminated and can not be disturbed during installation. Premier's proprietary engineering solution allowed an above ground installation that does not disturb the property and turns unusable land into energy producing property. |
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