the possibility of obtaining it in powder orgranulated form, simplifying use. The aim is toautomate slurry drying by development of arobot to replacing humans at the slurry ‘stirring’.Main advantage is 30% lower operating costs,simplifying access to the expanding smallcommunes market. Likely prospective partnersmay want to treat vegetable fibrous wastes,orange peel, artichoke waste etc, or be engineerswanting to work on the equipment.

FFoorr mmoorree iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn ccoonnttaacctt:: Isabelle Boisseau,Agence Nationale de Valorisation de la Recherche -Languedoc-Roussillon, Les Eschelles de la Ville 2,place Paul-Bec Montpellier, Hérault 34000. France.Tel: +33-467-156465. E Mail: IBoisseau@anvar.fr

Fraunhofer testedreference cells With the German market for PV growingrapidly, manufacturers are urged to avoidexpensive dimensional safety tolerances bymaking use of reference cell technology,which allows precision measurements on site.

Reference cells are solidly mounted units thathave been measured by CalLab at theFraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy andsubsequently serve as measurement instrumentsfor solar radiation. ISE CalLab has four solarsimulators, two mono chromators and a sun-tracking outdoor test rig. It can measure tinycells up to modules.

CalLab is one of three internationally leadingPV measurement laboratories - with qualitycontrol achieved by constant comparison andreference to the Physikalisch-Technische Bund-esanstalt (German Bureau of Standards) inBraunschweig. Manufacturers and testingcentres, such as TÜV Rheinland, have theirreference cells measured at ISE CalLab.

‘Our cell was developed for outdoor measure-ment,’ says developer, Stefan Brachmann. Watertight and constructed of UV stable material,measurement is simplified for the operator bythe output voltage signal being directlyproportional to solar radiation and measurementuncertainty is only 2%.Reference cells areavailable in a version with a spectral responsecorresponding to new thin-film materials. Atemperature sensor is integrated, so temperaturedependence can be taken into account.

FFoorr mmoorree iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn ccoonnttaacctt:: Stefan Brachmann,Fraunhofer ISE, Heidenhofstr. 2, 79110 FreiburgGermany. Tel.+490 7 61/4 01 66-99,

Showa Shell cuts price Showa Shell Sekiyu KK is to cut domesticprices on solar power systems by roughly

20%. The company aims to compete withmajor sellers, including Sharp and Kyocera.

By lowering prices and making adjustments inits sales network, the firm hopes to boost sales ofthe systems in 2003 to ¥6bn (US$49,5m) upfrom ¥2 bn in 2001. A Showa Shell Sekiyu 3kWsystem, sufficient for a single house, sells forabout ¥2.4m. The company plans to lowerwholesale price to sales agents so that the retailprice can be reduced to ¥2m or less. Showa ShellSekiyu secures solar cells from the RoyalDutch/Shell Group of Companies and assemblessystems for houses and industrial facilities at itsplant in Nagano Prefecture.

Technology cuts pricesSharp is close to commercialising a next-generation solar-power panel, likely to retailfor half the price of current products. Thefirm hopes to expand its leading 20%production share of the market.

With new technology, a 3kW capacity panel for a residential home would sell forabout ¥1m (US$8.2m) instead of the current¥2m, and users would pay only about ¥35kWh, closer to the ¥25 households pay now forfossil fuels power. The new solar power cell usesorganic pigments to change light intoelectricity. The cells lend themselves well tomass production because materials used tomake them are cheaper than those used forcurrently prevalent multicrystal silicon solarpower cells. Toshiba, Hitachi Maxell, ToyotaMotor and others are racing to develop next-generation solar panels, but are far fromproducing working models.

Sharp has succeeded in switching thenecessary electrolyte in the organic solar panelfrom the conventional liquid to a solid state,eliminating leakage and boosting reliability.

China takes on grid solarBP in partnership with Kenuo JKD, hasbeen selected to supply a solar photo-voltaicon-grid power system to Shenzhen’s CitizenCenter, a new building providing municipalfacilities including a museum, a library, anexhibition center and conference facilities.

The project will consist of solar roof claddingwith the potential to generate 1MW of electricpower using BP’s polycrystalline PV panels. BP and Kenuo JKD will supply the panels and other components. as well as designing an integrated system. The project is valued atUS $7.5m.

FFoorr mmoorree iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn ccoonnttaacctt:: Clare Bebbington,London. Tel: +44 20 74964851.

7July 2002 Photovoltaics Bulletin

NEWS

GGrreeeenn eelleeccttrriicciittyy ttrraaddee iinn SSAAFour of the main venues to be used during theWorld Summit on Sustainable Developmentin Johannesburg (the Sandton ConventionCentre, the Hilton Hotel, Rosebank, theExpo Centre at Nasrec and the UbuntuVillage) will use ‘green electricity’. Althoughthis is to cost the venues up to 35% more thanconventional electricity, the extra costs will berepaid by donors in the ‘green electricity’sector. Currently less than 1% of SAelectricity is ‘green’, but this could changeafter the summit, according to green energyservice company, Agama. Project leader GlynMorris said negotiations on future tariffs forgreen electricity in SA would be thrashed outwith the National Electricity Regulator at thesummit. ‘It will be a chance to experimentwith the development of a green tariff,possibly a shadow tariff, that is not legallybinding. While there is no mechanism totrade green electricity in a regulated market insouthern Africa, a likely mechanism is greenpower certificates certified and monitored bythe National Electricity Regulator,’ he said.

SSoollaarr wwaattcchheess rroollll oouuttCasio and Citizen have rolled out newwatches. From Casio the PRG-50, features adoughnut-shaped solar panel ringing the face.The 29mm panel inside the solar-powerwatch has gauges for direction, temperature,air pressure and altitude up to 10,000 metersto help mountain climbers and others inoutdoor activities. The solar panel meansusers do not have to worry about the batteryrunning out halfway to the peak. Prices rangefrom ($229) ¥28,000 to ($327) ¥40,000.From Citizen, the Attesa Eco-Drive features aperpetual calendar remaining accurate,without adjustment, until February 2100.Able to operate for nine months on a fullycharged battery, the watch has a power-savingmechanism that halts the second hand whendeprived of light. Uncharged for 72 hours, allhand movement stops. But an internal chiptracks time. When light hits the watch’s solargenerator again, the hands automaticallyadjust to the correct time. Price is ¥55,000.

CCooaalliittiioonn wweebbThe Colorado and Arizona Coalitions forNew Energy Technologies have launched anew joint website:http://www.newenergytechnologies.org. Visitors go to Colorado orArizona for coverage on features, news andmember company information, legislative andregulatory developments and events. The siteaims to be an information resource on energytechnology for local business communities.

IN BRIEF