TFT in the hot & humid The Midwest Research Institute, Battelle, andBechtel, acting through NREL have notthrown in the towel on TFT technology.

They are inviting proposals for the outdoortesting and monitoring of thin film modules inhot and humid climates.

FFoorr mmoorree iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn ccoonnttaacctt::http://www.nrel.gov/contracts/solicitations.htmlOr, Jerome Hicks. Email: jerome_hicks@nrel.gov

Shell targets AsiaShell Solar, which closed its solar cell andpanel manufacturing facilities in Netherlandsand Germany [PV Bulletin December] isclearly focusing away from Europe and intoAsia.

Large and scattered rural populations far awayfrom electricity plants make Asia a prime marketfor the Royal Dutch/Shell Group to grow itssolar power business, said Christophe Inglin,Asian MD of Shell's solar business. ‘Asia has ahuge potential for growth and ultimately it willbe in the rural segment. Asia has got one of thelargest off-grid populations.’

Along with small solar panels powering lightsand appliances in mountain villages, Shellexpects Asia to use more solar power forinfrastructure such as telecommunication towersand eventually meet peak residential demand.

In the 1990’s Shell committed to $500mspending on renewable energy between 1998and 2003. In 2001, it earmarked an a further$500m-$1bn to be spent over the next five years.It intends to have its $200m solar businessyielding profits by 2005.

Australia’s Sliver Cell A joint venture between the AustralianNational University and Origin Energy hasdeveloped a new type of solar cell. Thetransparent Sliver Cell, uses just a tenth ofsilicon used in conventional solar panelswhile matching power, performance andefficiency.

Professor Andrew Blakers, director of theANU Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems,said, ‘A solar panel using Sliver Cell technologyneeds the equivalent of two silicon wafers toproduce 140W of power. A conventional solarpanel needs about 60 silicon wafers to achievethis. By dramatically reducing the expensive puresilicon this technology represents a majoradvance in solar power technology.'

Origin Energy's executive GM, (Generation)

Andrew Stock said, ‘Origin Energy has workedwith ANU’s Centre for Sustainable EnergySystems for several years, investing more thanA$6m in research.’

The new approach cuts costs two ways, using less silicon for efficiency and power andneeding less capital to build a similar capacityplant.

FFoorr mmoorree iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn ccoonnttaacctt:: Prof Andrew Blakers,Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems, AustralianNational University. Tel:+61 2 6125 5905. Or AndrewStock, Executive GM, Generation, Origin EnergyTel:+61 8 8217 5817

Nanotechnology solar Nanosys Inc, and Matsushita Electric Workshave entered into a collaborative agreementfor the development of nanotechnology-basedsolar cells for the Asian building materialsmarket.

The collaboration combines the proprietaryinorganic nanocrystal and nanocompositetechnologies from Nanosys, with Matsushita'shigh volume, low cost manufacture technologiesto develop solar cells with cost and performancebenefits.

MEW will incorporate these devices intobuilding materials for residential andcommercial facilities in Asia.

‘This is an outstanding opportunity to deploythe compelling advantages of our expertise innanotechnology into a major industry,’ saidNanosys founder and CEO, Larry Bock.

‘Matsushita looks forward to working withNanosys, developing next generation solar celltechnology,’ said Shungo Ozawa, executive VPof Matsushita Electric Works R&D Lab Inc,US.

FFoorr mmoorree iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn ccoonnttaacctt:: Matsusita ElectricWorks, 1048 Kadoma, Osaka 571-8686, Japan. Tel: (06) 6908-1131

Spain must help its own Spain, Europe’s largest solar manufacturerseems unwilling to promote the technology inits home market. The Spanish Solar PVAssociation (ASIF) has been urging FederalGovernment to provide premiums forrenewable energy.

‘Without this,’ said president of ASIF JavierAnta, ‘only 30MW of solar PV will be installedby 2010, instead of predicted 110MW levels.’

Anta noted that individuals who want PV tileroofs of less than 5kW do not receive anyelectricity price premium, making expansiondifficult in the residential sector. The applicationprocess for grants is also complex, taking monthsto receive approvals.

The ASIF has presented a plan that demandsrevisions to the Government Real Decree1998/2818 electricity generation premiums anda range of changes related to financing.

The industry has requested that premiumsgranted for PV equipment last for 20 years,rather than the current time limit of 2010 and isasking for changes to the premium structure,dependent upon the size of the installation.

Spain’s PV manufacturing ranks third globally.It is 37% of European production and 9% ofworld production with 90% being exported.

Now Basque alternative energy company,Gamesa, has opened a PV module assemblyplant in the Seville municipality of Aznalcollar.Through subsidiary Gamesa Solar, it will invest�4.78m ($4.89m) in the plant to 2004 to meetproduction objectives.

Gamesa’s move into solar energy is in co-operation with Andalusian Isofoton, creatingmore than 50 jobs in a mining sector crisis area.

FFoorr mmoorree iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn ccoonnttaacctt:: Gamesa, ParqueTecnologico de Alava, c/Leonardo da Vinci 13, 01510Minano, Spain. Telephone: 945 185600.

Solar static in US Consumption of renewable energy in the USdropped 12% last year, according to the‘Annual Energy Review 2001’ released by theUS Department of Energy's EnergyInformation Administration.

From 2000 to 2001, consumption of windenergy increased from 57 to 59trillion Btu, whilesolar dropped from 66 to 64t-Btu. Geothermaldropped from 317 to 315, hydroelectricityaccounted for the majority of the loss as itdropped from 3,077 to 2,376, while thecombined consumption of biomass, waste and alcohol fuels dropped from 2,948 to 2,869t-Btu.

Total US energy consumption last year was96,950t-Btu, of which 38,232 was oil, 23,224was natural gas and 21,928t-Btu was coal.Estimates for the first six months of 2002indicate that consumption of wind energy isgrowing at 13% from the same period last year,while solar remains static and geothermalcontinues to decline.

IEA cautions UKThe British government must implement itsrenewable energy reforms and monitor theresults, while reviewing the complex system ofsupport mechanisms, streamlining those intoa simpler system as soon as possible, says anInternational Energy Agency report.

4Photovoltaics Bulletin January 2003

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